The Awakening
by Skitzoeinhoven
Summary: It's been 7 years since the incident at Storybrooke forest. According to the prophecy:Should Lily Gold continue down her magical path, Storybrooke as they know it will cease to exist. Convinced by the prophecy, Rumbelle cast a spell to remove Lily of her memories of magic.Will she remember? Will Storybrooke survive the prophecy? Find out on this last installment of the Lily series.
1. Dear Journal

_Dear Journal,_

 _My name is Lily Morgan Gold. I'm 15. I suppose the reason why I'm writing in a journal is because my therapist, Dr. Hopper, suggested that I should. He said that my hobby to write would be an excellent form of therapy. So, where do I even begin? I suppose like every story I should start at the beginning._

 _I live in a small provincial town called Storybrooke, which if you ask me sounds an awful lot like the word 'Storybook' but that could just be a mere coincidence. I may have grown up in this town but now it feels like I have finally outgrown it. It's boring. The people are lame with no prospects of ever changing. I want things to change. I want to change. I want to become a writer. I want to go back to New York City. I can't even remember the reason why we moved away. I suppose it was because both of my parent's families live here and they just wanted to be closer to them, but I believe the real reason why we moved away from New York was because I was haunted by a persistent dream that made me delusional to the point that I had to run away to this place. Hence, the therapy sessions._

 _That's me. The runner. Apparently that's what I'm really good at because that's what I'm known for. Especially in this town. And where I do I find myself running to? The woods. Storybrooke forest to be precise. There's something about these woods that I find myself going back to. I have blurred memories of my grandmother and Neal Nolan being there and... that's just it. Blurred memories. No explanations. I pride myself on having an acute memory but the fact that I can't remember is strange and it bothers me, like a needle piercing my mind. For some reason, both mother and father forbid me to go there. With the entire forest shrouded in such forbidden mystery and without so much as an explanation, it's no wonder why my own curiosity leads me back there. Huh, I suppose this town isn't all that boring._

 _This town… Some days its blandness is just maddening, but most days I find myself curious over the ever subtle but peculiar happenings going on around here. Sometimes I question, 'Am I the only one that sees this?'. When the reply to my line of questioning is unsatisfactory or non-existent, I mute myself and concede to the fact that perhaps I am just that crazy. Perhaps it is just me, but I've noticed that there are particular adults in this town that haven't aged a day since we moved to Storybrooke. There's even this phospherous glow about them that seems unnatural, including my own parents. And then there's also the coincidental peculiarity of names of certain citizens in town to particular fairytale characters I've read in books from mother's library. Let's take, for example, the peculiarity of my own father's name._

 _His full name is Rumplestiltskin Gold. Like… what? Who in the right mind would ever name their child with that combination of fantasy names? I remember confronting my father once about this very topic and he quickly dismissed me saying that his name change was due to the identity protection he was under while we lived in New York. It's a lie. I just know it is. It just doesn't make any sense. When I inquired about the relocation program further, like 'why did we need to move away to begin with?' he distanced himself from me and said, 'not to worry myself over it' and that 'it was all in the past.' Whenever I tried to ask my mother this question she would always blush and then redirect me back to father. It's infuriating to get answers from either of them. Like squeezing water from a stone._

 _And then of course, my mother, Belle Gold. Beautiful, patient, kind, insightful, brilliant… like an actual bell, that when agitated rings so magnificently that it inspires unique clarity. I admire her. I really do. She's just impossible to measure up to and it's both exhausting and futile to even try. Mother is, by far, a stark contrast to father who typically wears a dark cloud above his head which, either by accident or design, always makes him highly conspicuous._

 _Contrary to my mother's intent on transparency, she is actually quite secretive. Perhaps more so than father. Behind her sharp blue eyes lies a great story (I just know it!) and it's just waiting to fall from her rose-petal perched lips. Knowing her, probably something juicy and exciting. It would explain her attraction to darkness like her relationship to father. My guess, is that it has something to deal with my grandparents, Mary and Maurice, and her relationship with them. As proof, whenever I bring up questions in regards to her past she quickly guises her responses with smiles and misdirection. I recognize this trick all too well. Being the town loner has forced me to interact with my parents (more so than I would have liked) and it's through them that I've learned to observe and listen for the subtext of what people don't say. After years of observing them; picking up on their tones, gestures, behaviors, expressions and mannerisms, I know what it means to have a topic brushed off with a distraction or to have a topic changed quickly. It means they don't want me to know something._

 _I swear, half the reason mother and I don't get along is because she never answers any of my questions. It's always Papa that I have to get my answers from. She's never forthcoming and her persistent need for peace makes her appear submissive and vulnerable to plasticity. On top of everything else, it's so hard for me to respect someone who allows themselves to be manipulated so easily. And for some reason, she always accomodates him. It's so aggravating! Oh well, I suppose the one crucial thing I did learn from my parents was that everything is a front for something else and that each person wears their own mask for a reason._

 _She and Papa do have their romantic excursions. If you can even call them that. Often times they'd return from their get-away trip being more frustrated with each other than before they had left. But I know they're not staying at the cabin like they say they are. They're out in the woods. Storybrooke Forest, to do… only god knows what. All I know is that they disappear for hours at a time, barring me from ever knowing or ever finding out what it is they do out there. I learned a long time ago to expect only bad things to happen in Storybrooke woods. Like that one time in the woods I…_

 _…_ _Nevermind. That story's too long to explain all here and my hand is beginning to cramp. Alright Doc Hop. I did like you suggested. Here's hoping that by doing this I won't need to have any more therapy sessions._

… …

Lily closed her composition notebook and looked up from where she sat on a bench. She was surrounded by a menagerie of tombstones, all varying in sizes and shapes. It was the afternoon and school had been let out over an hour ago. Due to the setting sun shadows began darkening next to each head stone signaling her cue to head home. The cemetery had become her place of solace. No one knew of her peaceful sanctuary. In one fluid motion, Lily got up, stuffed her books neatly into her black back pack and swung the two straps meant for two shoulders over one.

Her black combat boots made great impressions in the grass as she stomped her way back to the path leading to her gated exit. Lily stopped as she passed the cemetery gates to withdraw one of her leisure books from within her bookbag. The usual path to her mother's library was a simple one. So mindless, in fact, that often times she would read a book along the way if only to avoid eye contact of the gawkers she would pass by. Lily stood out and her attire was always a sight to see, but her looks were done out of defiance to her mother and the town.

She made her way down the usual path ignoring the elements around her. Elements like the wind blowing softly through her dyed raven-black hair and maroon plaid skirt that rippled around her. Not once did she look up from the book she was reading as the sun beat down on her face. It was a fairly cool day and if it were any warmer Lily would have considered less foundation versus the normal heavy layer she'd lather on her face. The color of her foundation didn't compliment her natural skin tone at all. To Lily, the whiter the better, if only to give her more of a ghost like appearance and frighten away her onlookers. Her eyes, however amber and enchanting, were immediately shrouded by black eyeliner, which only accentuated her already death-like appearance. She didn't care. Lily already knew where she stood in town. She knew that she was odd, so she embraced it. Reveled in it.

The gentle wind did give her a slight chill, so she tightened the oversized black leather jacket she was wearing to keep her warm. The jacket was too big for her because she had 'borrowed' the item from her best friend, Roland. She really loved the jacket because it reminded her of his warm protection, like how they had originally met seven years ago when he had protected her from bullies at school. No one really understood her but him. So having and wearing the jacket all the time made her feel protected.

Just as she had expected, her mindless journey led her straight back into downtown Storybrooke. She continued walking, but as she finished reading her sentence she glanced up and caught a glimpse of her reflection in the Hardware shop's glass window she was passing. She had come a long way since her acute amnesia in the woods. The image of herself as the little eight-year-old girl was a far cry from what she was seeing now. Where auburn slightly curly locks once framed her, were drastically replaced by slightly bunched up tied-back black hair. She had a few piercings added to her ears, along with her nose and tongue just a few months ago. It wasn't until recently that she had just gotten used to the hole in her tongue.

Lily paused in her journey as she stared at her reflection in the glass window some more. At least the white top her mother gave her was something she and her mother both seemed to agree upon as wearable. Even Lily's fingernails were painted jet black to fit in with the rest of her macabre theme. She pointed at her reflection in the glass window and coached herself, "You are going to get out of this town. You are going to New York. If there's anyone that's going stop you from this, it's you."

Thinking that no one was paying attention to her, she became suddenly aware of another reflection smirking at her through the window … Neal Nolan. Lily spun on her heels embarrassingly to face Neal and immediately crossed her arms in feign defense. Neal stood coolly against one of the poles supporting the overhang of the establishment and chuckled to himself.

"I'm not crazy!" she shouted defensively back at him.

"I never said you were," he pointed out to her calmly. Lily found his staring at her highly suspect so she replied suspiciously, "You know, Mr. D doesn't take too kindly to people loitering and harassing his customers. He'll call the police and have you kicked off his property faster than you can say, 'Innocent'."

"Ooh!" Neal gasped, feigning offense as he gladly took in her cynical venomous quip. He knew her well enough to know that her words were only words and that her snarkiness was only a ruse to disguise her vulnerability. Cleverly, he replied, "Well, since you haven't purchased anything from the hardware store, that would technically mean you aren't a customer and since you and I just-so-happen to be sharing this exact spot, I would say that would make us both loiterers, wouldn't you think?"

His logic wasn't unsound, so without dignifying him with a respected response she immaturely stuck out her pierced tongue toward him and abruptly left his presence. Neal scoffed in disbelief and pursued after her still. "Hey! I wanna try and talk to you."

"Yeah, well what makes you think I have any interest in talking to you?" Lily snapped back coldly.

Neal stopped following Lily and said matter-of-factly, "Because all I've ever tried to be was your friend."

The comment alone was enough to pause Lily in her tracks. Her heart thumped rapidly every time she saw him. She had never understood why and felt compelled to look at his soft honest face and baby blue eyes. She didn't turn all the way to face him and instead glanced at him from the side. As she shook her head, she earnestly replied, "We can never be friends."

"And why not?"

Lily could tell by the hurt in his voice how serious he was in his intent. She slowly strolled back to him, casually scratching her nose along the way and said simply, "because we're just too different."

Neal had the look of absolute befuddlement on his face as he replied incredulously almost mockingly, " _because we're different_?! That's all?!"

"Well, look at you!" raised Lily's voice in frustration as she pointed at him, "You're part of the popular club. The pretty boys. The straight-and-narrow. The jocks! It would never work out between us!"

"Why should that matter when I lo…! when I…" Neal couldn't finish his sentence and his point had lost its momentum. Both hearts were pounding as his reason for friendship stammered along with his words. Just when the situation didn't get any more awkward Lily's nemesis, Alex stepped into the scene getting uncomfortably cozy next Neal.

Ever since Lily had moved back to Storybrooke Alexandra had been nothing but unkind to her. She and Neal had been friends for the longest time and could never see what Neal saw in her. Even to this day, no one ever knew for sure what their relationship was officially to each other, but it was always assumed that they would eventually end up being together in the end. Alexandra had perfectly dressed blonde hair and well-manicured eyes. In Lily's mind, Barbie was probably a close cousin of hers. If Alex didn't wear her smug around her like perfume, Lily could possibly tolerate her, but her perpetual pretentious attitude towards her always made her want to gag in disgust.

" _Nealy_ …," began Alex. Her voice sounded like bitter honey as it dripped from her mouth. _Nealy_ was Alex's nickname for Neal and it was enough for Lily to roll her eyes in revulsion. "Why do you always waste your time with your ghost friend when you have real flesh-and-blood friends here in the real world?"

"At least ghosts lived once. You, on the other hand, constantly live under a cosmetic mask which I'm sure by now has hardened into a rock."

"Speak for yourself!" retorted back indignantly. "Thanks to you, there's now a standard in Storybrooke as to what not to wear!"

Lily seethed as she glared at Alex. When she couldn't be bothered by either of them Lily turned and walked in the opposite direction towards the library. She couldn't bear to let Alex to see the hurt in her eyes. Even as she left Lily could still hear Alex tease her, "That's it! Go back to your Mummy! Goodness knows she's your only hope for fashion advice!"

At Alex's last remark, Neal shoved her off of him and backed away in frustration. "You know what Alex, you can be a real obnoxious jerk!"

Alex rolled her eyes and brushed off his comment lightly and said, "C'mon Neal. Everyone knows that she's dating that convict, Locksley. You're better off without her!"

Lily quickly threw herself inside the library doors and bolted directly to her safe spot. In her mind, the 'safe spot' was the farthest corner of the library and it just so happened to be the children's section of the library. Lily moved so quickly that she didn't even stop to look at who was attending the front desk as she proceeded to the back. She found the decades old bean bag and collapsed onto it, sulking as she tried desperately to muffle her tears. Her efforts to be discreet failed and the floodgates fell.

The part that was upsetting wasn't Alex's hurtful comments, but of Neal Nolan. His very presence.

Every time Lily encountered Neal Nolan she would feel inexplicably overwhelmed by emotion. Some days it would be of happiness, but often times it was of sadness like some part of her life had been sorely unresolved or taken away from her. It wasn't that she didn't like him. Far from it, it was because she truly loved him and that for some reason fate prevented them from being together. She didn't understand why life for her was like this. She felt like she was destined for something more but something was holding her back. All she knew was that the key to her happiness had something to deal with Neal Nolan.

 ** _…LIIIIIILLLYYYY…_**

… …

 _…Flashback…Seven Years ago…Edge of Storybrooke Forest…_

 _"Lily! LILY?!"_

 _What is that voice?_ Lily wondered. All she could see was darkness and she could hear nothing else but the voice. She recognized the young boy's voice. Usually, hearing it would bring her solace, but this time the tone sounded more distressed.

 _"It's me! It's Neal. Wake up! Why won't she wake up?"_

Lily wanted to run toward the call but her body felt paralyzed. She needed to see him. She longed to stop whatever it was that was giving him pain. She needed to wake up.

"… _Neal_ …" Lily called out softly as her eyes fluttered open. Her vision was initially blurry but quickly came into focus as she realized she was staring underneath the canopy of trees. As her vision gave way to clarity, she became aware of her surroundings and realized she was lying on the forest floor cradled in her father's lap. " _Neal?_ Papa?" Lily called out again in a daze.

"I'm right here," claimed Neal Cassidy as he stepped forward and knelt down to hold his sister's hand. Lily turned to see her brother but was confused, the younger voice from her head didn't match the Neal she was seeing.

"Where… where am I? What happened?" questioned Lily. Belle came closer to her daughter and knelt at her daughter's feet. "You're in the woods, my love. You… had run away from us," answered Belle. Lily took note of the hesitance in her mother's voice and knew that something wasn't right. It sounded as if that wasn't the complete story.

"I… _ran away?_ " replied Lily in disbelief.

"Something had drawn you to these woods," interrupted her father as he continued explaining to her, "We had searched all over Storybrooke for you, but it was your little friend, Mr. Nolan who helped us find you."

"Neal Nolan is my friend?" questioned Lily out loud. Her memory was all but a blur leading up to how she ended up in the woods. And the most significant part that stood out in her father's statement was that Neal was her friend, but that didn't sound right. "But… I don't have any friends."

"Sure you do," chimed in Neal Cassidy. "You have me."

Lily supposed that was correct, but even her memories of her brother were few and far between so it left her skeptical. Nothing was making sense. Lily furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "How come I don't remember anything?"

All the adults that surrounded her looked to each other as if fighting over who would answer first. Rumplestiltskin knew that a delay in response would only make Lily more curious, so he took the lead and replied, "You were suffering from hypothermia when we found you unconscious here. Perhaps when you fell, whatever it was that your head hit on was what caused your amnesia."

Lily lifted her hand to feel her head. Hypothermia? Hitting her head from the impact of her fall? Lily found her father's statements even more odd. She didn't feel cold, in fact, she had felt warm and tingly all over. And as for her head, Lily couldn't detect even the slightest headache. Everything her father was saying felt inconsistent.

"C'mon then," said Rumple as he helped Lily to her feet. "Let's take you to the hospital to get checked out. I wanna be certain nothing else had happened to you while you were away."

Lily gravitated towards Neal and took him by the hand, clinging to him. She and Neal led the way with Belle and Rumple following closely behind them as they left forest. The family walked only a few steps to leave the woods when Belle suddenly leaned in to whisper into her husband's ear, "Rumple, how are we all going to travel together if we all got here by magic?"

Without skipping a beat, Rumple made sure Lily wasn't looking and twirled his fingers in the air. Cheekily, he replied, "by car, of course." Just up ahead was a clearing and there was the Cadillac parked and ready for them to use.

Belle rolled her eyes and then scolded him, "Rumple! Remember, our daughter isn't supposed to know about magic."

"How could I forget?" he said unenthusiastically. It was evident by the tone of his voice that Rumplestiltskin didn't like having to hide magic from his own family.

"We must be careful."

… …

The family arrived to the hospital together to find the majority of the hospital staff had gathered around the loss of Captain Hook and the Charming family. The Gold family entered the hospital and approached the reception desk to find it nearly abandoned when suddenly a familiar face approached the family.

"Rumplestiltskin? Belle?" A petite young woman with fair skin and dark brown hair spoke to the family in a near high-pitched voice.

"Bouquet! Thank goodness," recognized Belle with relief as she took Lily from Neal and ushered her to stand in front of her. Gold stepped up beside Belle and eyed the practitioner. Based off of her white lab coat she donned more than the usual nurse-wear. He added, "Doctor, huh? Well done."

"Thank you," remarked Dr. Bouquet gracefully as she did her fair share of observing the family as well. She hadn't seen the family in years, but she knew something was wrong. The family was clearly in distress of something because knowing the family, they would never venture into the hospital unless the situation was dire. "But, something tells me you all aren't here for me. What can I do for you?"

Despite the rest of the hospital staff enraptured by the death of Killian Jones, Belle loved how Bouquet didn't fall prey to the drama like the rest of town and focused primarily on the family that was in front of her. Belle loved and trusted Bouquet because of her natural perceptiveness, forwardness and fearlessness toward her husband. What Belle liked most about the doctor, was that while most people coward themselves before Rumplestiltskin, Bouquet approached him humanely and impartially. It was these first impressions Bouquet made upon the family eight years ago that made both Belle and Rumple relax at her encounter.

As grateful as they all were to see a friendly face, both Rumple and Belle didn't even know where to begin in explaining why they were there and looked to each other as to who would initiate the conversation. It was then that Neal Cassidy intervened and started the conversation, "Lily was found in the woods and we think she may have amnesia. We wanted to make sure there wasn't anything else."

Dr. Bouquet looked to Neal with confusion and inquired, "I'm sorry, and who are you?"

"I'm sorry," apologized Rumplestiltskin to the doctor. "Doctor, this is my son, Neal Cassidy."

"I'm her brother," Neal replied confidently.

"Ok," replied the doctor. Bouquet looked skeptically to both Belle and Rumplestiltskin for their facial responses and she could tell right away that it was another long and complicated story. So she decided against her better judgement to question the familial connection. In fear of rousing suspicion, Bouquet looked to the little girl. She knelt down to her eye-level and with a warm smile said, "You must be Lily." Bouquet scanned Lily with her eyes and with a glimmer of pride she admired, "You know I was there with your mom and Dad the day you were born. I was your nurse." Lily shrugged her shoulders at the Doctor, seeming nonplussed by the apparent connection they shared but couldn't remember. Lily wasn't sure how to respond so she remained silent as she got closer to her father for assurance.

"I suppose you wouldn't have remembered me anyways. It was such a long time ago." Seeing that Lily was unsure of her, Dr. Bouquet proposed, "I'll tell you what, if you follow me, I'll show you a super comfy room. When we get there we can have a chat while we snack on cookies and juice."

The doctor's proposition didn't leave much for negotiation as Gold nudged his daughter to move forward. Gold smirked to himself, appreciating Bouquet's forwardness as he, Neal, Belle, and Lily followed after Dr. Bouquet to one of the available patient rooms. Along the way, the doctor spoke briefly to one of the nurses in passing and requested the snack items be delivered to their room. With a slight nod of the nurse's head the nurse took off in another direction to retrieve the items.

The family proceeded down the long corridor and noticed the windows along the way that viewed outside. It was dark and Lily's stomach was rumbling. She couldn't remember the last time she ate. Perhaps the cookies and juice would prove the consultation with her family's doctor worthwhile. Dr. Bouquet led the family to the room and almost instantly, the nurse she had whispered instructions to earlier came into the room to deliver the tray of goodies. The tray from what Lily could see had a small can of Pringles, a Snickers bar, an apple and a bottle of grape juice. Lily didn't realize how hungry she was until she saw the tray and began to salivate.

Dr. Bouquet went to the available bed and patted the mattress, gesturing for Lily to sit there. Seeing that the food was already there, she willingly complied and hopped up onto the mattress. Lily immediately went for the chips and engulfed an entire chip. Knowing that the chips would make her thirsty she reached for the grape juice that was on the bed's table and struggled to twist the cap off. Rumple, who was standing right beside her at the bed, came to her rescue and took the bottle from her. With ease, he twisted the cap cleanly off and handed it back to her which Lily took gratefully. Lily didn't look up at the doctor as she snacked away, but the doctor informed her, "So I'm just going to step outside with your family for a moment and have a quick catch-up with them. Ok?"

The doctor took the T.V. remote that was sitting behind Lily on the bed and flicked on the television for her. Belle patted her daughter's knee and assured, "We won't be far. I love you."

Neal was the first to follow Dr. Bouquet, followed by Rumple and last Belle, but before she left she made sure to kiss Lily's forehead to say 'goodbye' in her own intimate way. Lily saw her mother as she crossed the door's threshold and watched her pause for a moment to look back at her. Seeing that Lily was going to be alright, Belle gave one last warm smile and disappeared from sight to join in on the discussion with the doctor.

Lily moved on from the chips and dove right into the Snicker's bar when suddenly she heard a small boy's voice exclaim, "You're alive!"

Neal Nolan. Her bully. Lily felt suddenly defensive and replied sarcastically, "Of course I'm alive."

Neal got closer to her and her heart throbbed in her chest. It was something in his innocent understanding voice that reached deep into her soul to make her feel warm and fuzzy inside. She didn't understand this reaction she was having to him when he continued, "When I heard that you had arrived at the hospital as well I just had to find you. I had to let you know that I don't care what others think. You're a hero!"

Lily stared blankly at her peer and viewed him skeptically. " _A hero?_ " Lily murmured audibly to herself. She was really confused. Neal heard every word and agreed, "Yes!"

"Good thing we're at a hospital because I don't think you're thinking too clearly."

"I am thinking clearly! I haven't thought so clearly in all my life. You saved me! You're my hero!"

"Your hero?"

"Yes!"

"Don't you mean, Alex?"

" _Alex?_ "

"Yeah, you know, your… _friend?_ "

" _Friend?_ "

" _Girl_ … friend?"

Neal shook his head as if to shake away the confusion that temporarily blinded him, but pressed on, "Alex and I are just friends, but I don't love her."

"You could have fooled me with how often you rush to her defense to save your image."

"Is… that what you think of me?"

"How else should I think of you?"

Neal paused in his response, contemplating his next words carefully. Something was off about Lily and he couldn't quite articulate what it was exactly. "What…what do you remember… from back in the woods?"

"I-I can't… I don't remember." Lily tried desperately to think back on how she became suddenly found in the woods, but was suddenly taken aback by the fogginess of it all. She genuinely couldn't remember and it frightened her.

"You know… you… me… _magic?_ "

Silence filled the air between them as Neal waited with bated breath for her response. After a few beats, Lily's perplexed look turned quickly to disbelief and then immediately to laughter. Neal became affronted by her condescending laughter. In between heavy-breathed laughs, Lily managed to say, "Magic? _Really?_ You mean, like... _love?_ Boy, you really must be off your rocker! Good thing you're in the hospital."

Neal scrunched his face in frustration and said, "Well, for your information, you're in a hospital too! I know your parents did something to you. I don't know what exactly. Maybe mess with your memory or something, but I do know one thing for sure. I know what I saw and I know that you are a hero. You may not believe it, but I do. So I'll just have to believe it for you."

Lily's laughter ceased and suddenly she drew concerned, almost frightened. "Alright, you're creeping me out Neal. Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

Neal backed away out of Lily's room dis-heartedly. His head hung low for a moment, but then he looked up at Lily with great determination. "You may not remember, but you are magical. Magic is who you are and I will find it again for you. I will find it and you will remember."

 _Magic?_ Lily thought to herself. At first she thought he was joking, but his tone was serious and his delivery was sincere. He was telling the truth and it was conflicting with her sense of reality.

Neal left and her room fell incredibly silent again. Although the noise from the tv was still going on in the background, the room fell silent. Lily knew that if anybody had heard what Neal was saying they would have considered it a hysteric outburst due to sudden trauma in the family but to Lily, she knew deep down in her soul that it wasn't the case. Neal meant for it to be endearing, and she knew in her heart that what he said was true.

A voice echoed inside Lily's head, calling out to her.

 ** _…LIIIIIILLLYYYY…_**

The strange voice resonated inside her skull and it caused Lily to clasp the sides of her head. Perhaps there was a reason why she was in the hospital after all.

* * *

 **Hello! Welcome to the final installment for the "Lily" series _The Awakening_. You may or may not have noticed, but I decided to do something different this go around with the writing style for this story. Very similar to the show, I will be showcasing a lot of flashbacks. My intention is to continue two storylines simultaneously, what's going on in the present (basically seven years after from where the previous story left off) and the past (to explain what happened during those years). In order for myself to not be confused the flashbacks will be explained at the beginning of the reading to orient you where we are in the timeline and eventually will lead you back up to the present where the overall story will continue its plot and finish out. This unique storytelling has been a challenge for me, but I hope it reads smoothly and plainly for you. **

**I had originally wanted to start posting the Sunday after season 6 finished, but I also wanted to do this story justice. So I took my time to write what I wanted without the pressure of rushing this art. And since this is the final installment, I wanted to do this right. This series has been my baby and has helped me through a lot so I felt obligated to get it right. Leave me a review! I look forward to hearing from you. See you next chapter!**


	2. A Stranger in One's Own Home

_...Flashback… seven years ago… Storybrooke Hospital…_

Neal Cassidy, his father and Belle all stood outside Lily's hospital room and explained Lily's circumstance to Dr. Bouquet. Dr. Bouquet knew the situation to be delicate so she allowed the parents to speak their piece first on what they thought pertinent for her to know of Lily's situation and took it with stride. Bouquet was a curious person and naturally had questions for the family, but none were pertinent to Lily's predicament so she decided it best to put aside her own personal questions for later. Although Bouquet still had doubts on how they were going to keep magic a secret from Lily, the doctor respected the gravity of the situation and decided it best to refrain from sharing her opinion. Bouquet stuck to what she knew best and that was medicine. Never once did the doctor's face flinch to indicate prejudice or judgement as she listened. Instead, her face froze stoically with concern listening intensely for only the pertinent details that may help indicate Lily's personal condition.

The family was nearly done with their explanation when Rumplestiltskin noticed Neal Nolan leave his daughter's examination room. It caught him by surprise to have had an intruder sneak into a place without his knowledge so it begged investigation. Rumple was still within earshot of the dialogue as he left the group to check in on his daughter. He craned his head around the door's frame to inspect his daughter as well as the young boy who left her room, who by then had already disappeared from view. Rumple stepped further into the room and upon seeing the confused and disturbed look on Lily's face he inquired, "Is everything alright?"

He glanced back at the Nolan boy's shadow again which indicated to Lily that he knew of Neal Nolan's visit to see her. Lily was staring at the door where Neal's body once stood and then snapped back to reality. She blinked her eyes and shook her head with confusion as she replied hesitantly, "uh… yeah."

"Are you sure?" Gold pressed again, but before Lily could respond the rest of the family including Dr. Bouquet entered room. The doctor entered the room first followed by Belle then Neal. The first to speak was Dr. Bouquet who immediately crossed the room to talk with Lily, "I take it you were hungry."

Both Lily and the doctor glanced back to the private picnic and noticed how everything was quickly devoured. Sheepishly, Lily nodded her head up and down. The rest of the family stood back and watched as Lily carried on her interview with Dr. Bouquet. "It's alright. We can clean up the mess later," the doctor said as she came closer to Lily. When Bouquet notice Lily's retraction, she comforted the girl and explained, "I'm just going to check your vitals and inspect your body, ok?" Lily nodded, giving the doctor permission to do her job and continued, "As I do so, I want to talk about what happened out there in the woods." The doctor took out her stethoscope and began placing it around Lily's body. As she did so she questioned, "Your family told me that they found you there. Can you tell me the last thing you remember?"

"I…" began Lily timidly. She struggled in thought as she reflected. "I-I remember waking up in my father's arms. We-we were lying on the ground in the forest."

"And do you remember how you got to the forest?" questioned Bouquet.

"I…" This was the toughest question. Everything that had happened that day was all a fog and it frustrated her to no end. It felt like part of her life had been stolen from her, and yet somehow it was all her fault. "…I don't remember. It's all my fault!"

"It's not your fault, my love," defended Belle. Lily looked over to her mother's face which indicated something else, like regret. Rumple stepped slightly closer to his daughter and agreed, "You can't blame yourself for what you don't know."

"Can you remember this morning?" asked the doctor as she felt Lily's throat to check on her lymph nodes. Lily shook her head. The doctor withdrew a flashlight from her pocket and began checking Lily's vision. "Yesterday morning?"

Lily's face twisted as she focused when suddenly her face relaxed and exclaimed, "I remember yesterday morning!"

"You do?" Rumple said doubtfully. The doctor paused briefly in her examination to let Lily share her memory.

"I had cereal for breakfast… I went to see Henry, I think." Rumple's face relaxed as he recalled what happened yesterday. He was also at Henry's shop when Henry succumbed to a mysterious rash. He put two and two together and realized who had given him that rash from Lily's confession. Lily continued, "I remember riding my bike back home for lunch and then… and then… I don't remember."

Lily's excitement for the few memories she had faded quickly the moment she realized how foggy the rest of her memories were. Belle stepped forward toward her daughter and asked, "Do you remember New York?" Lily nodded encouragingly. Belle questioned, "Do you remember why we moved to Storybrooke?"

Lily paused at the thought. With all this questioning Lily was beginning to see a pattern and sensed that annoying fog roll back into her thoughts. Lily stared at the floor as she tried to extrapolate a reason to answer her mother's question. "I think… because of _family_. Our family lives here."

"That's right, sweetheart," said Rumple to his daughter encouragingly.

"Aargh! But that's not it!" exclaimed Lily in frustration as she slapped her hand on the mattress beside her. A headache was formulating in her head. "I mean, that's not the entire reason!"

It became quickly apparent to Dr. Bouquet that Lily was getting agitated with the questions and decided to end the inquisition. The doctor intervened, "Don't worry about it, Lily. It will come back to you."

" _When?_ When will they come back?" Lily asked desperately, she couldn't stand not remembering.

"You have to let your mind relax. Besides, you can't continue living if you dwell too much on the past."

No matter what the doctor said, it didn't settle Lily's anger which seemed to swell within her. She looked to her parents for assurance but saw something in their micro-expressions. They cared about her, there wasn't a doubt in her mind about that, but it was in the question that her mother had asked her. She may have forgotten the specifics, but she remembered the feelings that were associated to those missing memories. When they moved to Storybrooke, she felt like she was finally coming home like she belonged there, but if they were living in New York then why was she feeling like her parents were withholding information about Storybrooke from her? Why were her memories of New York stronger than that of Storybrooke's? Why were they living in New York to begin with if Storybrooke was _really_ their home? Lily couldn't explain it, but she knew right then that her parents were hiding something from her and that was what upset her the most.

"As a doctor, I recommend you all go home. It's obvious that Lily's suffered a lot of trauma which, in combination to hypothermia, may have been the culprit to your amnesia. Other than that, I don't see anything physically wrong with you. I would also like to give you a referral to see Dr. Hopper-"

"-We've," interrupted Rumple, "already made arrangements with him."

"Wow," the doctor remarked fully impressed, "You certainly are ahead of the game."

"Before we go," interrupted Neal Cassidy, who was still in the room observing all of this, "I would like to ask Lily one question." Both Rumple and Belle were about to protest when Neal blurted out his question before they could stop him, "Do you know who I am, Lily?!" The adults in the room turned to Lily and waited eagerly for her response with bated breath.

Lily stared into the man's eyes and her feelings of him were pure. With warm recognition, she smiled and answered, "Of course I do. You're… Neal Cassidy. You're my brother. I think-I think I ran away but you-you found me... I love you."

"Love you too, kiddo," smiled Neal as he affectionately ruffled the top of her head.

As a group, there seemed to have been a collective sigh of relief. Rumple had hoped that she had remembered, but then speculated that she had probably extracted that information when Neal first introduced himself to Bouquet at the hospital's entrance. Belle turned to Neal, giving him a rightful scowl to which he caught sight of and replied defensively, "What? I had to know! And besides, it would have been incredibly awkward if she had thought I was a complete stranger that was following her around this entire time."

Neal's point was fair, but it was also incredibly risky. Everyone reacted as though they had just dodged a bullet, but they all knew that it was only the beginning. There was no telling the extent of Lily's amnesia, and with a town full of believers in the supernatural, the Gold family was sorely unprepared as to how to protect Lily from it. Neal Cassidy's question and Neal Nolan's interaction with Lily was a test; not only of how much she remembered, but of how much her mind would reject magic and connect the dots to fill in the missing gaps.

"As I was saying…" started out the doctor, drawing the focus of attention back to her. "If you want my professional opinion, which is of course is why you all came here, give Lily some time." The group around the doctor took a breath to reflect as the doctor continued, "With amnesia cases, its best to just let the patients discover their memories on their own in their own time. Just go about your business as usual, and support her should there be a breakthrough in her memories. Other than that, there's really nothing else I can do for her. She's physically healthy."

The family drove back together from the hospital to the pink Victorian house. It was getting late in the evening and upon arriving Belle carried their daughter directly from the car to her bedroom to rest. Both Neal and Gold got out of the car slowly, unsure as to how to approach one another. Gold turned to his son and waited for Neal to say something. Awkwardly, yet boldly, Neal blurted out, "I'll uh, I'll just get a cab and see if Granny has a room open for me."

"Nonsense. You may be my son from another universe, but you're still my son. I love you no matter what."

"Thanks… _Papa_." Neal was hesitant at first to call him 'Papa', but then quickly admitted to himself that if he were to continue existing in this universe he would have to get used to accepting that this Gold was his father as well. After all, there was nothing different about this Rumplestiltskin from the one that was his from his universe, except the fact that this one wasn't traumatized as long from his imprisonment. Neal Cassidy anxiously combed through his slightly greying hair with his fingers and admitted, "That, really means a lot."

"Of course." Rumplestiltskin scanned his son quickly up and down and saw how nervous Neal was about this arrangement. The last thing Rumple wanted was to force Neal to do something he didn't want to do, so he waited for Neal to make the next move. Neal started to make his way to the steps, to which Rumple thought was promising. Rumple followed his son to the front stoop when Neal stopped. Neal turned to his father and said, "Look, just so you know, I… don't want to impose on you and your family. I'll look for my own place as soon as possible."

Rumple looked sincerely into Neal's eyes and said, "Whatever you want to do I won't try to stop you. You are welcome here any time." Neal bit his bottom lip as Rumple approached him again and continued, "I understand that although this isn't _home_ for you, I would certainly hope that you would consider it as such. I've lost my son and I've mourned him for a very long time. Seeing you here again has given me hope, like I've been given a second chance, and I'd be a fool to squander it. Despite everything that's happened today, I am really glad to see you again, son."

Neal smiled bashfully and fidgeted. "Me too. For what it's worth, I really am happy for you. It's comforting to know that at least in one universe," he said as he looked around and pointed everywhere, "you were able to find happiness." He sighed heavily and added sarcastically, "And to think, all it took was my counterpart's heroic death." Neal meant it to be a joke, but knew it had come out awkwardly. He looked down to the ground apprehensively. It was odd to compare himself to himself, but the truth was he felt inadequate to the legend he was here. It wasn't the fact that he had big shoes to fill, but the expectations everyone had of him to be this hero he never knew himself to be that seemed foreboding. That alone, made it seem even more hopeless and that much harder to live up to.

"That's exactly what it was... a heroic death," remarked Rumple matter-of-factly. At Rumple's words Neal's shoulders slumped even lower. After taking notice of this, Rumple continued, "but that doesn't have to be your fate if you don't want it to be."

"That's just it though, what if I fail to meet everybody's expectations? What if, when the time comes and I have to make the same choice -the _hero's_ choice- and I can't?"

"I still wouldn't think any less of you. You wanna know why?" Neal nodded, needing desperately some words of encouragement. "Because you're my son and I know you. You have always defied expectations. Even in the Enchanted Forest, that has always been who you were." Neal teared up at his father's words and smiled away his tears. Rumple made his way up the stairs with Neal following after. Suddenly, Neal paused. He looked up at the Victorian home anxiously and recalled memories from his alternate life and admitted, "Look, uh..."

Neal's interruption caused Rumple to stop at the front door and he turned to listen to his son. "I don't want to be a pain or anything, but.. in-uh, in my universe, this... house _was_ my home. I just… have a lot of bad memories here that I'd soon like to forget. You know?"

Rumple got even closer to his doppelganger son and placed a loving, comforting hand on his shoulder. "Well, if it makes you feel better. We'll look for other accommodations for you, but… let's look in the morning," suggested Rumplestiltskin. "For now, let us all just get some rest. It's been a long day."

Gold gestured for Neal to enter the house first and he followed after his son with a happy smile. For the first time in a very long time, Gold felt truly happy because in the oddest of circumstances he had both of his children staying with him under the same roof; a dream he never thought possible.

The evening should have gone well, but a few family members just couldn't sleep. Neal crept out of his guest room making sure nothing, not even a floorboard would creak from his departure. Since the house from this universe was exactly like the house from his, he knew exactly how to maneuver in the darkness with ease. With complete knowledge of the house's layout, he crept down the hallway with exact precision avoiding all the notorious floorboards that creaked and moaned when succumbed to pressure. He managed to make his way all the way down the stairs when suddenly a fire's light from the living room flickered on.

"Can't sleep?" called out the voice from the room. Neal paused in his steps realizing that he wasn't as inconspicuous as he had thought. When he didn't reply his father beckoned him. "Come… have a seat."

Neal glanced at the front door and then at the warm crackling fire his father had magically conjured for him. Neal couldn't tell whether it was the fire or if it was the magic that summoned him forward, but either way he slowly came forward to the light. As he approached his father he noticed a small glass of bourbon already half-drunk in his hand. Apparently, he couldn't sleep either and based off of the open bottle in front of him from where he sat on the couch he had been awake for quite some time. Perhaps none at all.

"I couldn't sleep," justified Neal.

"That makes two of us," replied Gold as he gestured for his son to sit down next to him on the couch. Neal obliged and had a seat. Neal squinted at the second empty glass beside the bottle and asked, "May I… uh?"

"Of course," said Gold almost insistently. He went ahead and poured a little bit of the hard liquor into the empty glass for him and continued, "You're not a little boy anymore and besides, it's not every day I get to share a glass with my own son."

Neal snorted as he took the glass from his father and smirked. Neal took a fairly large gulp. After the alcohol quickly singed and cooled his throat in a pleasant way, Gold asked, "So, what ails you, son?"

Neal continued sipping and pretended to have ignored the question. "Hmm?" Neal replied.

"Why are you restless? You found out that the love of your life still lives, your son… still lives, and you have a family who still loves you. What else could you ask for that would keep you up at night?"

The implication that he should be happy was kind of insulting to Neal, but at the same time Rumplestiltskin did have a point. "It's not that…" started out Neal.

"Then what is it?" asked his father bluntly as he took a swig from his own glass. The fire continued to crackle away as Neal contemplated his next answer.

"It's… it's complicated."

"What in our lives isn't?"

Neal stared at the liquid as it swirled inside the glass he was holding. "I know I should be happy, but I'm not. I-I never thought I would ever see Emma or Henry alive and now that I'm in this world, seeing them alive... and where they are at in their lives… I guess I'm just still in disbelief."

Neal finished his glass and placed it on the table in front of them. Gold immediately took the bottle and poured him another glass. As he poured he asked casually, "So why were you about to run away?"

"Isn't it obvious?" retorted Neal back sarcastically. Suddenly his heart fell as he finally admitted with a defeated sigh, "I don't belong here."

"Son, when have we ever belonged? We're like two square pegs trying to fit into round holes, when really, it should be the other way around."

"Yeah, well, in this hole that I've dug for myself..." Neal took another sip from his cup. "I have a son who's grownup now, who I barely even know due to the exorbitant amount of time that has elapsed. There's his mother who's pregnant with someone else's kid who's so distraught over the loss of her husband that I… I can't even begin to know how to help, let alone console her. And then there's me..." Neal sighed and then shook his head fervently. "What the hell I was thinking coming here?"

"One thing's for certain, as a family we certainly know how to live in chaos," stated Gold matter-of-factly as he took a smaller sip from his beverage. Neal smiled and even laughed at the remark as he concurred, "You got that right."

Silence filled the room as the two men both sipped their beverages and stared reflectively into the fire. Gold glanced over at Neal and caught sight of the Author's pen still in his front shirt pocket. The temptation was strong and it's power tugged at every nerve in his body. Gold fought hard to restrain himself. Gold was about to ask Neal about it when Neal interrupted, "-I don't even know why I'm here."

Gold blinked at the distraction and refocused to the conversation at hand. He disguised his lust for power through his statement by saying, "I would have thought it already obvious." Neal turned to Gold with hopeful eyes. Gold continued, "You're still in love with Emma."

Neal blushed and smiled as he turned away from his father. Sheepishly, he replied, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Look, I may look like I have all the answers, but the truth is, none of us really do. All I know is that love is powerful magic. It can compel us to perform the most unthinkable acts. I suppose in this instance, you and I are both alike. For me, I wanted to find you and it took a curse to find you in another realm. For you, it took my daughter to help you travel into another universe." Neal allowed his father's words to sink it, but it didn't seem to make him feel any better in his decision. Gold continued, "You took a risk coming here, but that's the price you pay for love. Whatever faith you had that led you here, have faith that something good will come of this too. I know that it has for me."

Gold sat his glass down on the table in front of them and patted Neal's knee encouragingly. He stood up and tightened the tie around his bathrobe and suggested, "If I were you, I'd try to get some sleep. You're going to need it for whatever tomorrow brings."

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" wondered Neal curiously. Gold smirked mischievously and answered assuredly, "I mean that anything is possible. In this town, events and fortunes are notorious for changing in an instant. I won't stop you from leaving if that's what you feel you must do. G'night, son. See you in the morning."

Gold gave Neal a loving pat on the shoulder before leaving the living room. The fire remained lit, though without Gold's magical presence it seemed to have dimmed the moment he left. Neal turned to the fire and stared at it some more. He poured himself another glass and continued staring at the fire. He remembered and reflected back to his youth and how he would stare at the mesmerizing flames to fall asleep. As the flames lowered, so did his eyelids and suddenly Neal didn't feel the need to leave the premises anymore.

… …


	3. The Lucky Pen

_...Flashback continued… seven years ago… Gold residence…_

Neal woke the following morning to some loud knocks at the front door to the pink Victorian home. He was mostly surprised by how he wasn't disturbed, but then realized that he was staying in a magical home. It wouldn't have surprised him in the slightest if the house itself had a few tricks up its sleeve. He sat up on the couch and discovered quickly that the evidence of their drinking from last night had completely disappeared. His father, Neal speculated. The blanket he couldn't remember sleeping with fell from his shoulder as he tossed it towards the foot of the couch to get up and investigate the knocking.

As he ventured toward the kitchen he discovered the rest of the family already awake. Both Lily and Belle sat at the dining table together and looked up to see him. With identical smiles on their faces, both greeted simultaneously, "Morning!"

He was surprised that the knock from the front door was what woke him up and not the smell or sound of breakfast being made. He chaulked it up to one of the houses strange abilities. As she finished her tea with a sip, Belle offered, "Please, sit! Your timing couldn't have been more perfect. Breakfast is ready. Would you like some tea?"

Neal combed his fingers through his ruffled bedhead hair and grumbled half-awake, "Uh-um, coffee if you have it?"

"I should have known," judged Belle happily. "You're just like your father."

Belle got up from the table just as Neal sat down to his plate full of scrambled eggs, toast and strawberries. He caught a glimpse at Lily who was giggling at him from her chair across from him and found her musings odd. "What's so funny?" he asked with a gruff.

"Not much of a morning person, are you?" Lily remarked.

"No," he said as Belle handed him his cup of joe. "But after this magical brew, I will be." Neal slurped his coffee to feel the temperature before taking an actual gulp. Belle sat down again at the table just as Neal inquired, "Hey, where's Pa-?"

But before he could finish his question he was soon interrupted by Henry, who walked into the dining room followed by Gold. "-Hey Dad."

"Henry!" exclaimed Neal jovially. A smile beamed across his face. "Come have a seat!" Neal made the chair next to him available as he offered it to his son. "Want some coffee?" offered Neal as he lifted his mug.

"No thanks," declined Henry as he sat down next to his father. "But uh, some tea would be nice."

Henry looked around the table for another empty cup to which Belle immediately got up and said with surprise, "Of course. I'll uh… just get you another cup."

Neal glanced at Lily and murmured to her on the side, " _I guess he gets the tea drinking from his mother's side_." Lily giggled again as Gold took his seat at the head of the table. "What brings you by, Henry? How is your mom by the way?"

"Grandma and grandpa are with her right now. They're… doing their best to console her, but… I think she just needs some time and space. You know?"

Neal softened his happiness to match the somber news. "Yeah, I know. She didn't seem to want to see anybody at the hospital when I was there. Is there… anything I can do to help?"

"Well, maybe not for her right now, but there is something you can do for me."

"Me?" Neal's ears perked up, surprised as he sensed an interesting proposition about to take place. At first Neal was incredulous that there was something Henry wanted specifically from him, but then again, he welcomed any opportunity in this universe to feel useful. So instead, he felt eager to take up whatever task Henry placed before him. "Name it. What is it?"

Belle handed Henry his tea and sat back down with the rest of the family. Henry appeared hesitant as he looked nervously from his grandfather to his father. "Well, since Grandpa's retired… I was hoping you'd be interested in taking over the Pawn Shop for me."

"Oh!" Neal didn't see that one coming. Neal glanced quickly over at his father, who appeared unsurprised and not thrilled.

Henry explained further, "Between my… M.T.A. obligations, my personal life and running the shop, I'm struggling to balance it all by myself."

" _M.T.A._ ... I'm sorry, what is that?" wondered Neal with genuine curiosity, but judging from Belle's expression he speculated had something to deal with magic. Belle looked up nervously and creatively answered, "M-Mah-Magestic Transport Authority."

Neal could tell from Belle's stuttering what the 'M' actually stood for, so he nodded and took it with stride. Neal turned to his father, wondering what his reaction would be, but when he saw the offer go unchallenged he turned back to Henry and questioned, "Wow. Well, I'm curious…" Neal scratched his head before proceeding, "doesn't the shop technically belong to, um,… your grandfather?"

Neal pointed to his father at the table to which Gold replied, "I actually gave Henry the title to the shop when Belle, Lily and I moved to New York eight years ago. Technically, the deed to the shop belongs to Henry now."

Neal turned to his father in shock and stated, "I'm actually quite surprised by how calm you are in all of this."

Belle and Lily watched and listened. After that spur of the moment question relating to magic, Belle leaned in closer to the conversation to filter out any other 'magical' topics. Hiding magic from Lily was going to be a lot harder than Belle thought and it only made the need to figure out how to protect Lily from magical-related conversations that much more pressing, but that was a conversation for her and Rumple later.

Simultaneously, Belle was also curious as to why Gold wasn't offended about the offer not being given to him. _Perhaps Rumple truly has changed_ , Belle thought. The dialogue went on as she pondered and Gold countered, "Why would I be upset? Henry's right. I'm retired and I still have a daughter to raise. So don't you worry about me, I'll have plenty to do around here. You will not get any quarrel from me. Besides, I think it's you who really needs the employment right now and nothing would please me more than to see the shop stay within the family. I'd rather have that than to have the property fall in anybody else's hands."

Surprised by the sudden turn of events, Neal turned to Henry with pleased befuddlement, "So… when do I start?"

"Whenever you're ready."

"Well, in that case, let me finish breakfast and I'll go grab my coat."

The Gold family continued with breakfast silently thinking to themselves about one another. Belle continued, albeit slowly, eating her breakfast as she looked to her husband. She eyed him suspiciously. Rumple appeared calm, but Belle knew that beneath the cool exterior were thousands of different gears all turning to push out what she could only suspect as something nefarious. Lily watched in amazement as her older brother scarfed down breakfast in a matter of seconds and soon enough both Neal and Henry were walking out the front door.

Gold looked up at the two men with shrewd curiosity as they both left the home. The moment the front door slammed shut, Gold immediately took the napkin from the table and wiped the corners of his mouth signaling his completed meal and departed from the table as well.

"And where are you going?" Belle wondered skeptically as he rounded the corner to living the dining room. Gold paused in his steps and turned slowly. Belle saw the slick smile quickly fade as he turned to face the rest of the family as he replied nonchalantly, "I'll just be tinkering on a few items down in the basement. Why? Did you have any plans for the day?"

Belle was baffled by the sudden comeback and stuttered back, "Oh, well... I-uh, would imagine that after such a traumatic event yesterday that you would want to be with your family."

The comment was well-received by Gold, but the way he interpreted it was that she knew he was scheming something and that she was onto him. Truth was, he wanted to be honest about his intentions with Belle, but with it involving the one thing they were forbidden to talk about in front of Lily, he slyly responded back by saying, "I just… need some space to think… about what happened yesterday. It was just as traumatic for me as well. Perhaps some time spent at the spinning wheel will help me relax."

At the end of his statement his spun on his heels and left, leaving both Belle and Lily behind to finish their breakfast. Belle immediately jumped up from her seat to follow after her husband. There was one problem that had been plaguing her all morning that she wanted resolved and she couldn't speak about it in front of Lily.

"Rumple!" called out Belle. He was already past the threshold to the basement door and had taken his first step towards his descent. He turned and faced her. "What are we going to do about Lily?"

"What do you mean? She's fine," he replied coyly.

"That's not what I meant. How are we to protect her from... _you-know-what_ , when everyone around her is aware of it except for her?" clarified Belle with deep concern.

"I'll take care of it."

"How?"

"Do you really want to know?"

Belle contemplated on his question. Part of her knew that the answer wasn't going to be something she liked and his rhetoical question didn't give her any comfort. The whole ordeal with Lily no longer remembering magic wasn't planned thoroughly and it left them struggling to find any means to resolve the issue. They were desperate to protect her. For the time being, Belle decided to restrain her curiosity. She needed to trust him to do what was best for their family. So she did just that.

After seeing that she wasn't interested in knowing, Rumple turned back around and proceeded further down the stairs into the basement. Belle left him to his own devices and returned to Lily who was still in the dining room finishing up breakfast. When Belle entered the room, Lily turned to her mother and said as she let the contents from her spoon slop messily into her cereal bowl, "Mum, I was wondering."

"Hmm?"

"I'm trying to remember… doesn't Papa go to his wheel when he's trying to forget something? Papa is going to his wheel to think about something he can't say in front of me, isn't he?"

Belle always knew her daughter to be brilliant but she never knew her to be this perceptive and it startled her slightly. To avoid confirming her daughter's suspicions she sighed and said, "Your father can be quite the puzzle but most times… I think he just likes to keep to himself."

Belle squinted at Gold's empty chair at the table and noticed a regular black pen next to his abandoned newspaper. She immediately thought of Neal and realized that he still had the Author's Pen. It could very well be the reason for Gold's suspicious behavior and she needed to talk to Neal in a safe place. "Come on, finish your breakfast," ordered Belle to Lily. "We're going to the library."

… …

"Thank you for coming out to the shop here to do this," thanked Henry as he went to the wall-safe to pull out the deed to the shop.

"Of course," said Neal as he gawked around at the shop. He couldn't help but marvel at everything and felt the need to share in his observations, "You know, despite my being from a parallel universe all the items here are still the same."

Henry looked up to Neal with recognition as he walked around the counter to get to the back wall. "I suppose you carry a lot of memories from when you were over there." The thought made Henry wonder about this Neal's experience. It made him wonder what it had been like to know that your entire family had died. Henry supposed that experiencing his own father's death was just a sample insight into the kind of grief Neal was going through. Henry thought about what little family Neal had from his universe and it led him to think about his other grandfather still over there. Henry questioned, "Curious, when you and grandpa were sharing a body, you didn't happen to share his memories as well?"

"Sort of. His thoughts would occasionally bleed over from time to time, but that was when I knew the potion I was taking was wearing off. Why?"

"Oh, I just thought that part of the reason why you recognized everything here was because you still carried his memories from that shared experience." Henry turned around and pulled open the faux-picture to gain access to the lock.

"Not really. Though, last night… well, I didn't sleep too well. I think it's because for the first time in years my thoughts were my own, but my dreams… not so much. I can still hear his thoughts despite our separation. I suppose that'll go away in time."

"Perhaps you can use that to your advantage," said Henry as he unlocked the safe and sifted through the other documents there to search for the deed. Neal looked to his son more curiously and wondered what he alluding to. Henry paused briefly, realizing what he just said as he found the document. He turned around to face his doppelganger father and continued with a little more fortitude, "Grandpa's changed and for the most part he's gotten better, but, you still shouldn't trust him."

"You don't think that as his son I don't already know that? You forget that centuries ago I grew up with the man as my father." The insinuation by Henry that he didn't know his own father was slightly insulting, but at the same time he was existing in an alternate universe and there could be some variations.

Henry raised his hands to show that he was coming clean and said, "I know, it's just that, you should still be guarded around him. That's all. I meant no offense by what I said."

"I understand and none offense taken." Neal looked down at the deed Henry had placed before him and perused the document thoroughly. As he read, he continued the dialogue between them and said, "Now… explain to me how you think I can use his memories to my advantage."

Henry paused at Neal's comment. Neal knew exactly what Henry was alluding to with all the questioning and it comforted Henry to know that they were on the same page. "Well, first of all, I'm glad that you are able to recognize everything here."

"In my defense, that's only because I spent many years here. I mean, since you and your mother's deaths in my world."

Henry grieved briefly as he sympathized with the pain his father had to endure in his world. "Well, on top of identifying items only grandpa would know, you can get an insight into his thought processes… like what he's planning to do next and such."

Neal couldn't believe what he was hearing and clarified, "You mean, _spy on him_?"

"No, not spy… more like anticipate his next move."

Neal's face had fallen and in his father's defense he stated, "Look, I get that your grandfather isn't the most virtuous person in Storybrooke, but I can tell you for a fact that after spending all that time sharing his headspace that all of his motivations weren't always sinister. Sure, his actions have been questionable, but everything he's ever done has either been to better himself or his family. He would never do anything to harm his family."

Henry bowed his head slightly in shame and smirked. He was being scolded by his father and it was a rare and unique situation he was experiencing. Henry thought about it and decided it best to not argue with him and nodded, "You're right." Neal did have a point and as Henry thought about it Henry immediately thought about his shared adventure with his grandfather in retrieving the Author's Pen. He remembered how sore he was when he was tricked by him into giving him the powerful pen. In the end, his trust was redeemed when they vanquished the Author the year prior together. Henry realized his own fault over his assumption with his grandfather and added with a cough, "I'll, uh, try to be less judgmental."

Neal could see that he placed Henry in an awkward position and smiled to lighten up the mood. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll keep an eye on him. He is still my father after all." It wasn't in Neal's intention to cut down his own son, but at the same time perhaps having been stuck sharing the same body and mind influenced his own opinion about his father as well. He recognized the possibility and reached out to touch Henry's shoulder and thanked him, "I appreciate the heads up though. I'm sure whatever your grandfather is cooking up we'll be able to figure it out together." When all on the deed seemed to check out Neal pointed at a blank spot on the page and asked, "Should I sign here as the co-owner?"

"Yep. That way I can still have access to the store if need be."

Neal nodded and started to reach for his lucky pen when suddenly the phone rang in the shop. The ring surprised both Henry and Neal. It seemed early to be rushed so quickly into business, but then again stranger things have happened in Storybrooke. Henry walked over to the one rotary phone in the shop and picked up the receiver. He answered the phone, "Hello, this is Gold's Pawn Shop… _Belle?_ "

"Belle?" Neal wondered out loud. Henry raised a finger to silence him and Neal murmured softly to himself, "I wonder what's so important she couldn't say at the house."

"Uh-huh… yeah?... Yeah, ok. We'll be over in just a moment." Henry hung up the phone with a confused look on his face and explained, "Belle wants us to come over to the library. Apparently, it's urgent and she didn't want grandpa to know."

Neal stuffed the deed inside his vest pocket and said, "Sure, let's go now."

The two stepped out of the Pawn Shop and as soon as Henry locked the shop they crossed the street and headed to the library. Henry was the first to reach the library doors when suddenly he felt like somebody was watching them. He paused to look around the town's main street to confirm his intuition. Neal looked at Henry and was equally curious. He looked around to see anything odd, but when nothing stuck out to him he asked, "What is it? Expecting anybody?"

Henry glanced one more time around the area and then turned to his father. He seemed a bit on edge. When his suspicions weren't confirmed he shrugged off the feeling and replied, "No, uh-it's… it's nothing. I just thought somebody was following us, is all."

Henry pulled open the library doors and they both proceeded inside. They were soon greeted by Belle who immediately came to the entrance. She looked beyond the two men to ensure nobody was following them and then quickly locked the front doors.

"So what's so urgent that you couldn't say over breakfast?" asked Henry right away, but his question was usurped by Neal's who asked almost simultaneously, "Where's Lily?"

Belle answered Neal's question first and said, "Lily's in the children's section reading." Seeing that the coast was clear she closed her eyes to focus and she lifted her hands. With an exhale of her breath, a delicate shimmer of light expelled from her hands and a sound proof bubble was instantly created surrounding the three individuals in the library's entrance way. Belle opened her eyes and with a sigh of relief she explained, "Now we can talk. I can't risk Lily or anybody else in town eavesdropping on this conversation. Hence, these precautions."

Belle's sudden use of magic startled both Henry and Neal and indicated the level of seriousness in the conversation. Neal still wasn't accustomed to seeing Belle use magic, but then again, he never knew she was magical to begin with so it was a bit more shocking to him than he would have liked to admit. Belle got straight to the point, "Neal, do you still have the Author's Pen?"

"What's an Author's Pen?" asked Neal who was clearly confused.

"You have the Author's Pen?!" exclaimed Henry, who knew exactly what she was talking about as he turned suddenly to his father. Henry quickly turned back to Belle and asked, "How did you know that he has the pen?"

"Rumple saw that you had it when you first arrived to our Storybrooke and he spoke about using it on Lily to control her magic when we were searching for her yesterday."

Neal's face grew grave with concern as he felt for his front pocket. "The only pen I have on me…" he began as he withdrew the old dipping pen "… is my 'Lucky Pen'."

Henry questioned his name for the powerful pen, " _Lucky_ Pen?"

"Well, yeah. It works without any ink, which for a dipping pen is pretty unique, right? It only works for me though. And for some reason, it has followed me everywhere and has managed to survive even my laundry. I mean I knew that it was enchanted, but I've never known it to hurt anybody."

Both Belle and Henry stared at the pen in Neal's hand as if afraid to touch it themselves. Henry and Belle looked to each other nervously when Belle asked Neal hesitantly, "And does it still work for you?"

"Well, I dunno, really. I was about to use it to sign the deed to the shop when you called and told us to come over." Without asking permission, Neal took it as his cue to give the pen a shot. He took the pen and walked over to the circulation desk. Henry and Belle followed closely behind and they observed anxiously as Neal took the deed that was still in his vest pocket and flattened it out on the counter. Neal looked for his spot to sign and proceeded to sign the parchment with difficulty. Ink refused to escape the tip of the pen. "Well, I'll be damned. It doesn't work anymore."

"Perhaps… it didn't work because you're no longer in your universe," theorized Belle.

"Maybe. I mean, it would make sense. Lily did mention that magic was different in my world," Neal seemed to concur.

"Or maybe," Henry speculated, "you aren't the intended host."

"Host? Ok, now I'm really confused," Neal stated out loud. Henry explained, "The Author is the most powerful being known to Storybrooke. Your _lucky pen_ is actually a conduit for the Author's power and uses anybody who wields it."

"I don't understand. How is this pen so dangerous? It's just a pen," justified Neal ignorantly.

"On behalf of the Author, the pen chooses the Author's next host to possess. That pen's magic, when possessed by the Author, has the power to change anybody's fate. You lose absolute control over your body as the Author uses you to interact with us, or his 'so-called' characters in his story," continued Henry as he shuddered in reflection from his own traumatic experience being possessed by the Author.

" _He?_ You mean, you know for a fact that the Author is in fact, a guy?" questioned Neal.

"Yes, well… Your father fell victim to the Author last year and, according to Lily's dream journal, Henry had also succumbed to the Author in another universe," mentioned Belle.

"Well, how were you able to vanquish him in this world?" wondered Neal justifiably. Belle blushed to which Henry answered for her. "When grandpa was under control of the Author, Belle used True Love's Kiss and it broke the Author's hold over him."

Neal continued holding the pen in his hand and stared at it as he ran his fingers of his other hand through his hair. He had the look of contemplation when suddenly he had an idea. He offered the pen to Henry and suggested, "Here. You take it."

"Me? No way! Why would you offer that to me?" asked Henry with alarm.

"You said that the pen chooses on behalf of the Author. We just tested the pen on me and so far we know that it isn't me. We need to find out who the next intended Author is," reasoned Neal as he still held the pen in front of Henry.

Henry timidly took the pen and walked over to the counter. He grabbed a scrap sheet of paper from off of the desk and attempted to write his name on it to no success either. Henry exhaled a sigh of relief as he said, "Looks like it isn't me either. Maybe the Author doesn't want somebody who's power is limited. Perhaps he wants somebody who's powerful. Somebody with magic."

Henry turned to Belle with the pen. Belle's eyes widened with fear as she realized Henry's implication. She gulped as she took the pen from Henry and attempted to write her name on the same scrap paper. Not a drop of ink fell and the sharp tip tore a piece of the parchment instead. Neal looked to Henry confused. "If it's not you, who else could it be?"

Belle thought about it some more and realized that what Henry had said was valid. "You're right Henry, about the host needing somebody who's powerful, but it isn't me. The Author's ego was certainly large enough, and I would imagine that he wouldn't accept anything less than the most powerful host."

"Well, if not you then who?" asked Henry.

"There are only two other people in town who currently have magic," Belle said with great trepidation. "Rumplestiltskin and Lily. They are both equally powerful enough and neither one of them should ever touch this pen."

"There's still another matter. The enchanted paper. My book," added Henry.

"Your book? What does that have to deal with anything?" inquired Neal.

"In order for the Author to be fully resurrected, the pen's magic must be validated on Enchanted paper and the only paper like that in town resides in Henry's Once Upon a Time book," informed Belle.

"Yeah, but now that grandpa can travel to other worlds he can easily return to the Enchanted Forest. That's where the Enchanted pages from my book originated from. He could still retrieve the paper himself," added Henry.

"So… what are we going to do?" Neal asked to the collective. An idea brewed in Belle's head and she told both Henry and Neal what to do.

… …

Just outside the library around the corner of the library's entrance Rumple hid from view. He waited patiently and told himself that he wouldn't move until he saw his son and grandson leave the library. As if on cue, both Neal and Henry stepped out of the library. They were both within ear shot as he heard Henry say to his enchanted pocket-watch, "Cogsworth, take my father and I to the Enchanted Forest."

In an orange glow, the two men disappeared from the library's outdoor entrance. Rumple smirked to himself as he withdrew his dagger from his overcoat's inside pocket. He stared down at the knife that's brought him so much power and abilities. One of those abilities he had absorbed fairly recently from the enchanted silver slippers from Kansas was the ability to transport between worlds. "Take me to see my son and grandson in the Enchanted Forest."

Rumple tapped the flat side of his blade against the palm of his hand three times and in a blur he disappeared from Storybrooke and appeared in the Enchanted Forest. Hearing that he was incredibly close to Henry and Neal, he rendered a temporary camouflaging spell upon himself and proceeded forward into the forest.

Neal led Henry further into the forest until finally he found a worthy spot to stop. Neal looked around the area and proclaimed, "This looks good. Nobody will know to find the pen out here and with all of these pieces of twig and wood on the ground it'll blend in really well."

"I hope you're right, Dad," said Henry doubtfully. "Should we even consider remembering this spot should we need to check back on it again?"

"No. The more random the spot the better. No one should have this," stated Neal as he lowered himself to the ground and started digging with his bare hands. Henry, despite wearing his sharp blue suit, lowered himself next to his father and started digging as well. It only took a few moments for the two to bury the pen and with great finality Neal stood up first and dusted off the dirt from his hands. "Well, that's that I guess."

Henry did the same and stood up. He continued staring back down at the ground with uncertainty as he finished wiping away the rest of the dirt from his hands. Henry looked to his father and asked, "Are you ready to head back?"

Neal sighed and said with certainty, "Yep. Let's go before I change my mind."

Henry nodded and then placed a caring hand on his father's shoulders. He pulled out Cogsworth from within his coat pocket and requested, "Cogsworth, take my father and I back home to Storybrooke."

A brief brilliant orange light covered the individuals and in a quick second both Neal and Henry were gone. Once Rumple saw that the coast was clear he revealed himself to the open forest. He couldn't believe his luck as he stepped forward to the spot where they had buried the pen. It was obvious where they last stood, based off the freshly disturbed dirt, and he eagerly lowered himself to the ground. Having no shame, he too used his bare hands to push through the dirt only to discover that the pen he unearthed wasn't the Author's Pen, but an ordinary Bic pen from Storybrooke's realm. He had been deliberately tricked.

Rumple bellowed in frustrated anger which frightened away any neighboring critter that was loitering by. He took his frustrations out on the plastic pen and attempted to bend it in half when he thought of something. He stared down at the pen as he heaved a frustrated sigh. Somehow, both Neal and Henry knew he would follow after them. Meaning that they knew that he wanted the Author's pen. But how could they know that he was after the pen, or know that it was Neal he would be following? The only person he had shared his intentions of the pen with… was with Belle.

…

The moment Henry and Neal left her library Belle turned to her magical sound proof shield and waved it away. She took the dangerous Author's Pen with her and quickly went to the fantasy section of the library. Along the way, she passed by the children's section and saw Lily flipping innocently through a couple of books. Seeing that she was still preoccupied, Belle continued forward. She came to the section in hope to find a book thick enough yet memorable for her to remember for later. Poetically, she withdrew _Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table_ from the shelf and brought it back with her to her office by the front circulation desk.

She placed the novel on the desk and flipped open the book. After about a few hundred pages she placed the Author's Pen inside the book to measure and draw out a box surrounding the pen to fit inside. She then took a box cutter and began cutting away pages inside the book. Soon enough, she had cut away the perfectly sized hole and placed the Author's Pen inside. It pained Belle to have to deface a book like this, but she knew that it would pain her even more to have either one of her family members to find it. It was for their own good, she justified. She walked back to the fantasy section and placed the book properly back into its spot. She hoped to never have to retrieve it again.

* * *

 **Sorry for the posting delay! I've been a very busy bee. Between a fair I was participating in and now a move to my new apartment I barely had any time for myself to dedicate to this story. So here it is finally. I hope to post more regularly once I'm settled into my new place. Thank you for being patient with me. And I look forward to reading your reviews soon! Till then, see you next chapter.**


	4. Who Rescues Who?

_Present day. Storybrooke Library._

Lily kept her face buried into her arms. She could never understand why Neal Nolan made her feel so conflicted inside, or why the hammering headaches of a voice calling out her name followed so quickly after. None of it made any sense to her. For as long as she could remember, the voice that was calling out to her had always been much stronger in the library than anywhere else.

 ** _…LIIIIIILLLYYYY…_**

Lily grasped the sides of her head as if the pressure that was building inside was difficult to contain. Her own name pounded within her skull when suddenly an actual voice disturbed her.

"Lily? Are you alright?" This voice was much kinder and gentler, so Lily looked up to discover her mother hovering over her with concern. Somehow, her mother managed to not have gained any grey in her hair despite Lily's constant rebellion, and her appearances were as they were when they first moved to Storybrooke. Belle still had her youthful beautiful looks. Her long flowing locks still maintained buoyancy with each toss of her head and her skin remained consistently smooth like porcelain with the minor exception of some dark circles beneath her eyes, but Lily chalked it up as having had to deal with her teenager ways for quite some time. "What happened, love?"

The pounding halted for the time being and Lily snapped back into reality. She was grateful for her mother's interruption, but because she was so conflicted in her own emotions and was suffering from a slight headache she replied back more harshly than she had intended, "I'm fine! Let's just… Can we go home? This place is giving me a headache."

"You're never fine when you come into the library's children section in tears," pointed out Belle bluntly to her daughter.

"Look, I don't want to talk about it. I do enough of that already with Dr. Hopper," spat Lily as she quickly got up from the floor of the children's section and rudely pushed past her mother to leave. Belle seemed disappointed and she rolled her eyes as she sighed in frustration. She pulled out her keys and said defeatedly, "I'll just lock up the library then."

By the time Belle had locked the front doors to the library, Lily was already in her mother's RAV-4 sulking gloomily through the passenger window. It pained Belle to see her daughter this way and knew there was a good reason for her tears. Belle knew Lily to be an extremely resilient young woman, but nothing ever affected her like this except whenever she interacted with Neal Nolan. In Belle's mind, Neal Nolan was bad news. All he ever did was try to get Lily to remember her magic, and for the safety and well-being of her family as well as everyone in Storybrooke Belle just couldn't allow that to happen.

As Belle stared at her daughter, she bit her bottom lip and moved forward bravely to her car. She needed to be strong for her daughter and knew that what she was about to ask would not be taken well. Belle got to the car and slid into the driver's seat. She placed the keys into the ignition, but didn't turn the car on. She turned to Lily and asked directly, "Was it Neal Nolan?"

"No," lied Lily. Lily answered too quickly and briefly which led Belle to believe that her intuition was correct.

"Honey, if there's anything I can do-"

"-you can drive us home," cut off Lily harshly. Lily didn't mean to be so rude to her mother, but she wanted to get away from the library quickly. Just being within proximity of Neal worsened her headache.

Belle was hurt by Lily's abrupt response, but knew full well that she was also her father's daughter. They were so similar at times that it made her often wonder what exactly Lily had inherited from her. Like any wounded animal trying to protect itself, the only reason why a creature would react so harshly would be if it were in pain. Lily was hurting and Belle didn't know how to help or heal what ailed her daughter. The only thing Belle could say in response to the unkind words was her reminder. Belle quickly backed down from her questioning and said gently, "I love you, Lily."

Belle hoped for a response back, but she knew she wasn't going to get one. Instead, the car was filled with an awkward silence. She finally turned the keys in the ignition and drove them both home. The car ride there was silent but it was to be expected. She also expected Lily to fly out of the car the moment she parked in their driveway so she said right before pulling into their driveway, "Your father will hear about this."

The words didn't come out right as she said them. It sounded more like a threat than Belle simply trying to be informative and even she winced slightly at the delivery. Lily ignored the comment and instead took it with great satisfaction.

"Good. Maybe we'll actually see him for a change," murmured Lily under her breath. Belle barely heard her, but she knew it was something cheeky. As if right on cue, the moment Belle parked in the driveway Lily sprung out of the car and dashed quickly into the pink Victorian home.

Ever since Rumplestiltskin had absorbed the power of transportation from the Oz silver slippers, he had managed to conveniently slip away to other worlds while Belle and Lily continued living normal lives in Storybrooke. Despite claiming retirement, his so-called 'business trips' over the past few years proved otherwise. Belle knew why he spent more time elsewhere in other worlds; it was because of magic. He was free to brandish it in other worlds, but in Storybrooke it was a source of conflict. So to separate his two loves, he visited both worlds. He often left Storybrooke to practice magic, spending most of his time in his Dark Castle or in the Enchanted Forest to finish out or following through on deals he made long ago. Despite his 'retired' appearances, his dealmaking was still very much alive.

At first it made Belle jealous to see her husband go off galivanting to other worlds without her, but then again, that had always been their relationship since its inception. Belle sighed heavily again. No matter what she did for Lily, nothing was working. She needed backup. She needed his support and couldn't wait to see him later tonight.

Belle was busy cooking dinner while Lily was upstairs reading her leisure book. Lily contemplated writing some more in her journal when suddenly she heard a few pebbles knock delicately against her window. She turned at the curious sound and when she came to the window she recognized the person below and beamed. She lifted the window to poke her head outside and spoke, "Sir Locksley. I did not expect you to be arriving at my window pane and at this late hour. You know how my parents feel about that."

Roland Locksley, who was donned in a greased up grey t-shirt and dirty jeans, stared up at her hopefully. It was evident that he had just gotten off work from the mechanic's shop and decided to come by to her residence by means of his motorcycle. He knew the ritual for approaching the Gold residence stealthily. Ride to the end of the street and then walk the bike the rest of the way up to the house. Although the majority of his long hair was tied up in the back, he tossed his head to rid the loose strand of hair away from his face as he looked up to Lily's window. He replied back audibly but not too loudly, "We both know that it's your father who doesn't like me, and… I don't see his car."

He made a fair point and Lily found it amusing. "I'll be right down," Lily said happily as she gathered herself to escape outside her window. Fortunately, this wasn't the first time she escaped through her bedroom window and knew exactly what to do and where to place her feet. With the helpful combination of vines and rain gutter that flowed conveniently down to the ground, she was able to utilize the two and descend gracefully to the ground.

The moment her two feet hit the ground, Roland remarked, "You know, it's always quite impressive to see you have that much agility in combat boots."

"It's a gift. C'mon, let's get out of here," she said while taking his hand to navigate safely away from the premises.

… …

 _…Flashback… six years ago… Storybrooke…_

"What a weirdo…"

"Murderer…"

"Freak…"

"Her whole family is evil…"

"Probably because darkness runs in the family…"

Lily tripped and the school books she was carrying jumbled loose in her arms and fell to the ground. The students nearby her seized the opportunity and immediately began kicking her books away from her and they skidded halfway down the hallway. She scrambled what she could to gather the remaining books in front of her to prevent them from being kicked away and found a tan combat boot on top of one of her books near her hand. She slowly looked up to look at her oppressor and saw one of her male classmates staring back down at her.

He had a mane of black hair with darkened skin and almond shaped eyes. Over one of his eyes had a distinctive scar that cut permanently through one of his eyebrows. His voiced seemed like poisonous silk as he spoke softly to her, "So… the most powerful man in town has a weak daughter. How pathetic. You represent him so poorly…"

"HEY! Scarface!" shouted Neal Nolan from down the hallway. He had the look of fierce anger as he carried one of Lily's discarded books back to give back to Lily. "Step away from her!"

"I don't need your help," claimed Lily stubbornly as she quickly got up to defend herself. She snatched her book away from Neal and the Scar-faced boy replied innocently, "We were just having a conversation."

"Uh-huh. Yeah, sure," Neal said skeptically. "Why don't you beat it, before I beat you?"

"Oooh! Threats!" The Scar-faced boy seemed more excited than fearful at Neal's comment. It was as if he looked forward to the opportunity of showing Neal his version of respect when he suddenly backed away coolly. "I thought acts of this kind were beyond people of your character."

"You're making the right choice in walking away," said Neal boldly as he turned to face Lily. Only, when he turned to face her she was nowhere in sight. He looked around the crowded halls and when he started making eye-contact with random people, they started scattering and scurrying to their classes. He looked above the crowd and spotted Lily further down the hallway. "Hey!" he shouted to her. He repeated his call again when he caught up to her and reached for her shoulder and tugged at it to face her. "HEY!"

"I told you I didn't need your help!" she shouted back at him, matching his volume. "I don't need you to save me." She looked up into his beautiful clear blue eyes and her heart started thumping uncontrollably. Through all the denial she could see plainly on his face his genuine attempt to care for her and it always resonated so much within her. Suddenly her head began to throb. At first she thought she was having an epiphanic moment, but then the throbbing worsened and it turned painful. She clutched the side of her head from the pain and she immediately distanced herself from him.

"Well, _excuse_ me _Princess_. I saw that you were in distress, so I-"

She cringed when he said Princess and always perceived it as a kind of insult so she cut him off and said, "-You're better off not making friends with me. It will only make you unpopular and I know how much you _love_ your Princely crown."

She meant for it to be a mocking jest toward Neal, but the comment caused him to stop chasing after her. She continued walking on without even bothering to see the hurt on his face, but she didn't care. With her head throbbing mysteriously and the cruel words mulling through her mind incessantly, she felt that she was the one that was hurting more. Then the voice in her head called out to her,

 ** _…LIIIIIILLLYYYY…_**

Lily carried her school books close to her as she passed the murmurs of fellow students whispering about her in the hallway at school. They couldn't see it, but tears were beginning to form and she fought with every fiber of her being to prevent one of them from falling. She ran to the closest girls' bathrooms and quickly hid inside a stall. She didn't like school anymore. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy learning, she just abhorred the people that interacted with her. The teasing, the rumors… she just couldn't take it anymore.

The last bell rang throughout the school, signaling that the next class was about to begin but Lily took advantage of the abandoned hallways and left the school building. She darted quickly outside into the cool refreshing air. She didn't realize how upset she was until she struggled to breathe from acute hyperventilation. Suddenly a crisp energizing wind blew in her direction, giving her the much-needed oxygen to breathe and keep moving forward. School hadn't finished and yet Lily had gone far beyond the school's premises.

* * *

 **Again, sorry everyone. I've been living in what seems like Distraction City. This time, I just settled into my new apartment and am trying to get back into my writing zone. How's everyone liking season 7 of OUAT so far? It's certainly different, that's for sure. Short chapter. Going to post another one soon. See ya next chapter!**


	5. Making Friends

_…Flashback… six years ago… Storybrooke… same day…_

She had no idea where she was going. At this point, Lily was so beside herself with emotion that all sound judgement was completely out the window. She walked all the way down the road that led into Storybrooke's downtown main street and carefully crossed the intersection. The first place she dropped by was her brother's workplace at the Pawn Shop but when she arrived she was disappointed to see the closed sign at the front door. Disheartened and disappointed, she went to the only person around who would be willing to listen to her, Dr. Hopper.

She ran into the building and up the flight of stairs. Without even thinking to knock, she burst forth into his office eager to talk and said, "Dr. Hopper! Dr. Hopper, I need…"

Lily didn't even bother to finish her own sentence when she realized she had just interrupted one of his sessions. Dr. Hopper was startled by Lily's arrival and his client, Leroy, turned to see the bombardment.

"Lily!" exclaimed Dr. Hopper in surprise.

"I'm… I'm so sorry!" apologized Lily, embarrassed by what she had done. It was apparent to both of the adults in the room that the girl was in distress. Her eyes were still wet from tears and her cheeks were still flushed from frustration. She looked like she really needed to talk to someone and Leroy saw this.

"Lily, our session isn't for another two hours? As you can see I'm already with-" started out the doctor, but was immediately interrupted by Leroy who raised his hand to object.

"-It's ok, Doc." Leroy stood up from the couch and looked sympathetically back and forth between the little girl and the doctor. "She can have the rest of my session."

Lily was so taken back by the kind gesture from that she became overwhelmed with embarrassment. Dr. Hopper asked Leroy, "Are you sure you're ok with that, Leroy?"

"Positive. This looks like an emergency. I'll just see you same time next week." Leroy then turned to Lily and said to her encouragingly as he passed by her, "Good luck little sister. I hope today gets better for you."

"Thank you… sir," thanked Lily bashfully. It warmed her heart to know that there were still good people in this town. She was truly grateful to him for surrendering his time to her. Lily stepped a little further into the office and Leroy shut the door closed behind her.

"Well, uh, have a seat I guess," instructed Dr. Hopper as he looked at her with the look of consternation. The moment Lily sat down on the couch, Archie realized what his face was doing and tried his best to relax. For a brief moment before speaking, he took the time to scan Lily and take in her situation. He knew of her inclination to run away, but for the most part he knew that she had her reasons. Whatever those reasons were, he didn't know but knew would be most interesting. He initiated the conversation. "So, Lily, why _are_ you here instead of at school?"

Lily fidgeted with her fingers and bowed her feet where she sat on the couch. It was evident that she felt some remorse from having left school prematurely and knew that she was going to hear about it from her parents later. She fumbled with her words and began, "I-I don't like school anymore."

"So… you're here because you don't like school?" reiterated the doctor for affirmation.

"Nobody likes me. They all think that I was the one who murdered the two people on the night I ran away into the woods," stated Lily heartbrokenly.

Dr. Hopper remained frozen. He was there on the night Hook and Zelena were murdered. He remembered seeing Lily be used by Zelena to kill Killian. He also remembered witnessing Neal's life curse get traded with Zelena's. He hesitated on his response because for once there was actual truth to those rumors, but then remembered that he was a professional psychiatrist and that she wasn't supposed to know the truth about that night. "Is that what they're saying?" he asked coyly.

Lily continued, "… and that the reason why I had amnesia was because their deaths were too traumatic."

To Dr. Hopper, it sounded like Lily desperately needed clarity to that night in the woods. He wanted to tell the truth to her, but revealing the truth would also mean that she would have to recognize magic, _her_ magic. And according to a prophecy revealed to him by her parents, should Lily remember her magic Storybrooke as they knew it would cease to exist. Lily looked to the doctor for a reassuring response and he found himself lacking one. So instead he reluctantly conceded to the rumors and concurred, "From what I saw, I would say that-that it was quite traumatizing."

"But what happened?" she asked practically imploring.

"You know quite well that is something your parents have not permitted me to talk about."

"Then how am I to get better if you're preventing me from connecting the pieces to my memory?" pointed out Lily. Lily stunned the doctor again with her acute response. She had indeed struck another point. Before he had a chance to respond Lily rapidly fired out another point, "For that matter, what's the point in me coming to these sessions if you're not willing to help me?"

Defensively, the doctor struck back cleverly, "I am trying to help you Lily! Just not in the way _you_ think is helping." He then quickly redirected the conversation by saying, "You mentioned when you first walked in here that nobody likes you. Do you not have any friends?" Lily felt affronted by the doctor's quick evasion of her most pressing question and went ahead and answered him silently by shaking her head 'no'. The doctor continued, "So you're saying that in your entire year since you've moved to Storybrooke, you have yet to make any friends?"

"It's hard to make friends with people who are afraid of you or who are partially related to you," mentioned Lily as she protectively crossed her arms over her body.

"First of all, people who are scared are only afraid of what they don't know. Second, it's ok to be friends with family."

"You don't understand! No matter what I do it all gets back to my parents. It's like I can't escape!"

"Well, that would certainly explain your constant need to escape your situations. Perhaps you should change your tactics. Instead of everyone having to accept you, maybe you should learn to accept others." Lily didn't like hearing his suggestion, but the thought was novel so she continued listening. "If you allow yourself to continue thinking and assuming that nobody likes you then how does that open you to the possibility of welcoming anybody into your life?" Dr. Hopper could tell that Lily was masticating on the thought and continued, "Don't give up hope on friendship just yet-"

Just before Dr. Hopper could finish his thought, a knock came at the door and interrupted the conversation. He looked to the face clock on his mantel and saw that his next appointment had arrived on time. Knowing full-well who his next client was, he welcomed the next person in, "Come in!"

Lily turned to the door that opened and was surprised to see Roland Locksley standing there. Based off his facial reaction he was also surprised to see Lily. It had been over a year since they had last spoken to each other. Throughout the year, they had seen each other in passing but never had one been thrusted into a situation to actually talk to each other. He had very little to say to her since he was well known throughout town as the Vigilante which came with it his notorious prejudice over magic.

The last time they had spoken to each other Lily had come to his jail cell under the manipulation of Zelena to torture his father in front of him. He knew that the witch compelled Lily to hurt his father in order to get at her sister Regina, but he also knew that it took pleading and begging to spare him. He couldn't forget the torment he saw in Lily's eyes and felt that somehow it was he who had gotten her to spare his father from the torture. He had harbored ill-will towards magical persons for the longest time, but ever since Lily spared his father's life from the witch it changed his perspective slightly on magic. And with his sessions with Dr. Hopper, he realized that magic wasn't all bad. Lily didn't remember any of this, but he did.

At first he viewed magic as good and bad, but when he remembered being helpless inside that jail cell he realized that it took magic to come to save his father; Lily's magic. Magic was neither black nor white, but grey. Just like Lily. She was neither good nor bad, but somewhere in the middle. So when Roland saw Lily with Dr. Hopper having a session, it made him remember that she wasn't this little evil sorceress, she was still human. That even she, who had magic, still needed help from someone who wasn't magical.

With his connections with Regina being his stepmother, Roland later understood that Lily's magical situation was being kept under a tight wrap. He didn't know the full extent of it, but he knew that for all intents and purposes she was to know nothing about magic. Which in his mind, was just about the same as not having magic at all which is how he preferred things. "I'm-I'm sorry. I didn't know you were still in the middle of a session," apologized Roland with great flummox.

"It's quite alright, Roland. Lily was about to head home," mentioned Dr. Hopper.

"I-I was?" questioned Lily to the doctor. It had all felt too soon. Lily was actually beginning to feel like they were going somewhere in their session. Dr. Hopper ignored Lily's slight protest and continued his thought to Roland, "I'm sure the school and her parents must be worried about her."

Lily stood up slowly. She was slightly affronted by the doctor's passive aggressive dismissal from his office and shuffled toward the office door. She couldn't believe she was being kicked out. Just when she was beginning to think that nobody cared the doctor suggested to Roland, "You know what? Roland, why don't you escort Lily to her mother's library."

" _Me?_ " Roland questioned the doctor while pointing to himself, "But, don't I have to be here to satisfy my probation?" Since he was a juvenile when he committed the crimes as the Vigilante, his lawyer was able to convince the court to serve his penance through community service and counseling.

"You have to attend your sessions, yes this is true, but I am the one who has to sign off on your attendance and make a recommendation to your probation officer at the end of this month for your hearing. So, to satisfy today's session you will walk with Lily down to the library." Roland looked hesitantly back and forth between Lily and Dr. Hopper, wondering if this was some kind of cruel trick. "Don't worry, I think this will be good for the both of you."

Roland rolled his eyes and huffed. He then turned to Lily and groaned, "C'mon…"

The two didn't say much to each other as they left the office building and walked a little way down the street. Lily kept looking to Roland expecting him to say something, and when he didn't her curiosity got the best of her and she blurted out, "So what are you in for?"

Roland looked to Lily full of scorn and growled, "I would think that you, of all people, should know why I have to see the Doc."

Lily thought really hard about her last encounter with Roland and realized that she couldn't remember. Her memory loss somehow involved him and it caused her to pause in her tracks. Her sudden halt caused Roland to turn around to see what the matter was and saw that she was genuinely becoming upset.

"I-I don't," she replied meekly. She honestly couldn't remember. From what she heard of the town rumors, he had vandalized various establishments because of a cause he had believed in. To Lily, she didn't give much credence to rumors because if the rumors about her weren't true then neither were his. It just didn't seem right or fair to hold his to a higher pedestal just because they didn't involve her.

"Wow, you really don't remember, do you?" Roland said in astonishment.

"I only know based from what I've heard," Lily pointed out fairly.

"And what have you heard?" he wondered curiously.

"That you, uh painted on people's houses, because you thought- because you thought…" It was obvious that she was afraid to finish the rumor.

" _Because I thought_ -, what?" He demanded her to finish her sentence.

"Because you thought they had magic!" Lily blurted out the thought and then immediately grimaced over Roland's reaction to it.

At first his face was serious, but then it smoothed out and his face turned into a smile as he laughed, "I suppose that does make me sound crazy, doesn't it?" Roland couldn't help but laugh for a good few minutes and it was his laughter that alleviated the tension between the two. She had no idea what it was that she had said to him that was so funny, but his laughter certainly eased Lily's anxiety towards him. "No wonder why I'm seeing a psychiatrist!" Roland bellowed rhetorically to himself, not caring who was gawking at him on the streets. He looked to Lily and saw how unsure she was of him. Upon recognizing her hesitance towards him, he patted her on the back and apologized, "I'm sorry. I'm not normally this intimidating. It's just, ever since my arrest and… what had happened with you and my family…"

Lily uncoiled to think back to the memory, only she found that it was yet another curious blurry moment of her past. The only memories she had of Roland was that time she had been bullied at school and he came to her rescue. It wasn't much, but it was still a positive memory of her interaction with him. He wasn't a threat. He was a friend. Despite the random acts of vandalism, she remembered no other harm being done. With his lingering statement, she could only imagine that he was simply referring to the vandalism to their house on the day they first moved to Storybrooke, so she mustered up her courage and replied, "I forgive you… for the markings on our door last year. I'm-I'm sure you had your reasons."

"And you're not the evil little witch everyone thinks you are," Roland snarled back. Realizing how it sounded as it came out of his mouth, he too apologized, "I'm sorry. I don't handle criticisms well. What I meant to say was, you're not so bad, Lily Gold." His smile toward Lily calmed her and in return she smiled kindly back at him. He noticed how lonely she was and given her past with people bullying her he assumed that she still most likely struggled to make friends. Given what he knew, he decided to continue the conversation and mentioned, "So, uh, next year I graduate high school."

" _Ppfft._ Lucky you," remarked Lily sarcastically with a pang of jealousy. "I wish I could graduate this year. I'd leave this town in a heartbeat and escape these ignorant fools if I had my diploma now."

"Well, someday it'll be your turn. And if you take enough advanced courses, it is actually possible to graduate from school early."

The thought piqued her interest and his suggestion suddenly had her undivided attention. " _How?_ " she wondered eagerly.

"Well you see, most Storybrooke residents, when they ' _go off_ ' to college they just take online classes and get their degrees that way, but I think you're more of the adventurous type." Roland stated his observations out loud but Lily was still waiting with bated breath for the _how_ to finally be answered. She nodded her head for him to go on in his explanation, so he continued, "So, since I take that you _are_ that eager to leave town, I suggest you try to do so well in school that your teachers have no choice but to have you skip a few grades. And as soon as you get into high school, research your college of choice, take a few Advanced Placement courses, pass them, get your diploma and then get the hell out of here."

Just then, Belle rushed outside of the library and scanned the streets. It didn't take her long to spot her daughter with Roland when she ran right up to them and said with relief, "Lily! Oh Honey, thank goodness you're safe. I was so worried!" She immediately took her daughter into her chest and they embraced for a moment. After a few squeezes Belle continued, "The school just informed me of your disappearance and then when Dr. Hopper called and said that you were on your way to me. I just had to run out to find you."

"I'm ok, mum. Really," assured Lily, who was already starting to get embarrassed in front of Roland. When mother and daughter parted from their hug, Belle looked to Lily's accompaniment and gave him a skeptical glance. Unlike Lily, she hadn't forgotten what he had done or what he thought about magic. So without showing her distain toward the boy she cleared her throat, flashed a plastic smile and addressed cordially, "Mr. Locksley."

Roland stood stoically with feet spread slightly apart and planted firmly to the ground. He wasn't afraid and Belle noticed it. He replied in kind, "Mrs. Gold."

Belle glanced quickly between Roland and Lily. With a quick change of heart, she was quite pleased with the budding friendship. It was, after all, better than Lily not having any friends. Belle thought of the prophecy and how Roland was against magic and was comforted by the fact that with Roland she wouldn't have to worry about Lily remembering her magic. She approved the interaction between the two and said more warmly, "Thank you, for-um, accompanying Lily back to me."

"It was my pleasure," he said as he bowed most chivalrously to the point where it was almost comical. Roland didn't intend for the gesture to be an insult, but merely an acknowledgement of propriety. It was a reminder of her days of royalty and of their previous lives in the Enchanted Forest. However, it was also of days Belle gained the most painful memories. Other than her time living with Rumple in the Dark Castle, her life in the Enchanted Forest were days she would have soon liked to have forgotten.

The silence between the group was starting to become awkward and upon seeing that his mission was complete, Roland began backing away slowly and said, "Well, I guess I'll see you around, Lily."

Without wanting to squander away an opportunity for friendship, Belle invited on behalf of Lily, "Come on over to the house for tea sometime. We'd love to have you over."

The invitation caught Roland by surprise and he choked on his spit that was in his throat. "Are you sure- I mean, that would be nice," he said nervously. "Thank you."

Lily smirked. Up until now, she hadn't recalled a moment where she saw Roland frightened over anything and so the sudden change in character amused her. Lily decided to bait him. With a coy smile she added nonchalantly, "You don't have to come. I'll totally understand if you're scared. Most people in town are."

Suddenly his back straightened and he replied more defiantly, "I'm not scared!"

"Good. Then it's settled," Belle said very pleased with herself. "How about tomorrow?" Belle glanced strictly to her daughter as she emphasized the last part of her sentence. " _After_ school?"

"Uh, yeah," confirmed Roland as has he folded his arms across his chest to feign confidence.

"Great, we'll see you then," finished Belle with a much warmer smile than before. She reached her arm around Lily's shoulder and brought her close as they both made their way back to the library.

* * *

 **This was one of my favorite chapters to write. With the time changes I was able to explain a few things like how Lily became friends with Roland and why Belle approves of the friendship versus Rumple. Well, here's to another writing sprint. Let's see if I can keep this going. I look forward to hearing from you guys soon! Until then, see you next chapter!**


	6. The Dream and Curses

_…Flashback… six years ago… Storybrooke… same day…_

Lily's head still had remnants of the headache from earlier and she noticed as they were getting closer to the library that they were starting up again. She thought about the intensity of the library's fluorescent lights and didn't want to be subjected to them, thinking they would only exacerbate her headache. Lily turned and looked to her mother to stop her. "Mum, can we just go home instead? My head hurts and I'm pretty tired."

Surprised by the sudden change of plans, Belle conceded and agreed. "Alright sweetheart. Meet me in the car while I close the library. I'll be out in about ten minutes."

Belle quickly kissed Lily on the head and they parted ways. Lily found her mother's car and immediately got into the front passenger's seat. The way her mother's car was parked she had a clear view of the Pawn Shop. She wondered where her brother was. She knew that the shop had originally belonged to her father, but she had secretly wished he was still there running. Deep down, it was times like these that she wanted her father instead of her mother. If he had been there he would have known exactly the right thing to say to her to soothe her nerves, but instead he was off on another business trip. Thinking about her father being away made her upset again so she tried to think of happier things as she waited for her mother to close the library. She thought about Roland's suggestion and thought it was a brilliant idea.

Lily reclined the backside of the passenger's seat and rested her eyes. She thought about where she would go if she were given the opportunity to leave Storybrooke at that very moment. Thanks to her parents, she had seen the world and besides Storybrooke the only place she had ever felt at home was back in New York. _New York…_

She knew that her family still owned property in the city and knew of the universities there through her mother's prior occupation. It was perfect! She would live in their old home in New York while she attended one of the universities there. As wonderful as the thought was there was still the relocation program that her father had mentioned to her not so long ago. She wondered if that would still impede on her plans. She would need to talk to him…

 _Lily found herself walking around the streets of her New York home. She was following the path her father used to take when he would make his way home from work each day. She climbed the usual steps to their condominium and entered through the door. She expected to see all of the furniture and objects of their home in their usual spots but instead entered a void of nothingness. The door behind her slammed shut. She looked around the space and saw no other windows or doors or any means of escape. She looked down at her body. She could clearly see herself, but nothing else._

 _"Hello?" questioned Lily as she called out into the void. Her voice didn't ring or echo. It was as if sound itself held no resonation here in the mysterious dark room. She waited. She looked around the space expecting for something to appear or jump out at her. Nothing._

 _Suddenly she heard whispers. Among the whispers, she heard her own voice of a distant memory spring up distinctly. She was younger and she could tell due to her voice's pitch being much higher. "Mummy, who writes these books?"_

 _Lily recalled this memory from one of the many reading times she shared with her mother. She heard her mother reply in kind, "Authors write these beautifully complex and wonderful tales. Do you want to be writer when you grow up?"_

 _The younger Lily replied innocently, "No. I want to be an author."_

 ** _…LIIIIIILLLYYYY…_**

"Lily?"

Lily opened her eyes and realized that she had fallen asleep. Lily was still inside her mother's vehicle and she turned to her mother who was looking back at her with concern. Belle was already in the driver's seat ready to go when she asked, "Are you ready to go home?"

Without saying a word, Lily nodded her head and lifted the back of her seat to the upright position. Belle's disposition hadn't changed as she turned the car on and they left main street for home. As she drove, she kept looking to Lily, worried. Lily had gone slightly pale and her cheeks were beginning to gain color again. "Are you sure everything is alright?"

"Mmhmm," was all Lily managed to say, but her response didn't quelch Belle's worry. Belle pressed, "What happened at school that caused you to run away?"

When Lily didn't say anything right away it only compounded Belle's worry for her so she continued, "Honey, I'm not upset with you and you're not in trouble. I just want to know what's going on."

At first Lily felt reluctant to confess her issues because she felt that there was nothing she could do to fix them. However, Lily realized that she had just run away to see her psychiatrist. She didn't have many people to talk to about her problems so she confessed, "I was teased at school."

Belle's eyes furrowed as she tried to understand. "So you're still being bullied?"

"Everyone in town thinks I killed Emma's husband and a witch! I'm being painted as some dark villain from all the books I've ever read. I'm not evil!"

"You're not evil!" agreed Belle.

"Maybe I should start dressing like a comic book villain. Everyone already thinks that I am. It's the role I was meant to play being the daughter of the most powerful businessman in Storybrooke. It was Papa who convinced the lawyers that I wasn't the murderer, wasn't it?"

"Woah! First of all, you are not a villain!" exclaimed Belle as a matter-of-fact. She felt affronted on many accounts over how untrue and unfair everyone was treating her. Angry, Belle wanted to set the record straight on what she thought and said, "Second, rumors should not define who you are because no one defines who you are. You do that! And you do that through your actions! Lily, rumors are only words!"

"Yeah? Well these words hurt."

"Only because you are allowing them to hurt you. Let me make myself clear. Your father and I did everything we could to help you through that traumatic day. You did not kill anybody and your father certainly did not have to convince anybody of that fact. _Ok?_ "

"Ok," replied Lily timidly. She wanted to assure her mother that she had understood, but it still didn't change how awful she felt. "When will Papa be home?" Lily wondered to her mother. She wanted to question him on their home in New York. This whole day was awful but the one good thing was that she had a worthwhile dream for potential happiness.

"The same time he comes home every evening," Belle answered much softly. "Why?" Belle waited for her daughter to respond, but she knew why. Lily was scared. She could tell by the pale look on Lily's face that something wasn't right and Lily always ran to her father for protection when something frightened her. This wasn't usual for Lily after having been bullied at school. All Lily could say to her mother was a muffled, "Nothing" when it was obviously not nothing. When Belle wasn't satisfied with Lily's response she declared, "I'm going to have a talk with your teachers tomorrow."

"No! Mama, please don't! Everyone's going to think I'm a nark," begged Lily.

"Well then, what do you want me to do? Because I will not stand idly by while my daughter is being relentlessly harassed at school. It is simply unacceptable."

"I want to talk to Papa first."

"Well, my dear, then that is what you're going to get because I promise you, when your father hears about what happened today you will not like what he has to say."

… …

 _…Meanwhile, in the Enchanted Forest…_

Rumplestiltskin withdrew his dagger and dragged it along an older man's reluctant palm. The peasant was short in stature and was tied helplessly to a tree. Unless someone was passing by, nobody heard his cries that resonated against the trees in the forest. A ruby red slit bearing his blood trickled forth from the cut Rumple made. The old man questioned hysterically, "Why are you doing this?!" The peasant's voice shrilled.

"We had a deal and you owed me. Moving back to the Enchanted Forest does not qualify as forbearance to your debts," Rumple reminded calmly, as if performing a boring business transaction. Since he had rid himself of the Dark One Curse two years ago, his skin and attire no longer resembled what it had once looked like in the Enchanted Forest. He appeared normal, like he had just stepped out of Storybrooke and was suddenly in the Enchanted Forest. He still wore his Armani suit which still intimidated anyone who crossed him no matter the realm he was in.

Rumple waved his dagger over the wound and collected what appeared to be magic from the man's cut. The surprising thing about the transaction, was that as magic vacated the man's hand the hand slowly turned into stone.

"Henry will hear about this!" threatened the older man.

"Oh ho! Will he, now? Have you ever stopped to wonder why Henry hasn't stopped me before?" Rumple replied rhetorically. However, the intent of Rumple's reply was meant to feel like more of a threat. The older man's eyes widened with fear. He knew what that meant. It meant that Rumple had either removed the memories of his past debtors or worse, he had killed them. The nameless man struggled to figure a way to stall Rumplestiltskin. "Please!" begged the man slowly turning into stone. "This fairy magic is all I've got to keep me human."

"Well then, I suppose I'm in luck because fairy magic is just what I need."

"Why do you need more power? You're already the most powerful sorcerer in all the realms?!"

"That's my business," answered Rumple coldly.

"You know, you may not be cursed as the Dark One anymore, but you're still cursed!"

"And what would you know about curses?" wondered Rumple, skeptical yet curious over what he had to say.

"I know that Rumplestiltskin is not your true name! I know that if someone says your true name three times it will destroy you forever! You have no identity and without that knowledge you're powerless. That is your curse. That is why you go around collecting power!"

"Even if that were true, I'm still collecting your magic." Rumple scanned the man up and down. He knew the man was desperate and out of that desperation would say anything. Still, Rumple was curious. "Where did you hear about this?" Rumple started to grow concern over the new threat. He never understood his lust for power only that he had always felt drawn to it and it was the connection about himself which piqued his interest.

"You should talk to your wife! She was the one who started Storybrooke's book club years ago. Not only did we do research on ourselves, we read and discussed others."

"Huh… apparently, you're worth more to me with your lips still moving," remarked Rumplestiltskin to himself as he halted the old man's stone transformation. "And what do you know of my… _Author?_ "

The old man was relieved to see that his stalling tactic was working and that the majority of his human form remained intact. He continued his explanation. "Well, that's the thing, isn't it? We all had follow up questions afterwards about our own authors and wondered the same thing only to discover that they're all dead! All the authors for all of us fairytale characters are deceased in Storybrooke's world. And when the Author came to Storybrooke two years ago, taking over yours and Henry's bodies, it opened up so many possibilities. I went to the Blue Fairy to make sense of it all and she said that the Author's power is made of inspiration and with his ability to shapeshift into different people or pennames, or whatever... he could still be out there." The old man took a breath and spoke more bravely as he pointed out, "So if you're looking to rid yourself of this curse then it's the Author's power you seek, not mine! Now please, I told you what you wanted. Let me go!"

"First thing's first..." Rumple approached the man and raised his bloodied dagger close to the man's face. The old man widened his eyes with fear and protested, "But I told you everything you would need to know to save yourself. You don't need me anymore!"

Rumple smirked and remarked slyly, "It's funny that you mention my grandson, because I'm going to show you why nobody has told him." Rumple raised his hand threateningly and right before he casted, the old man shouted angrily at him, "That's not the only curse, Rumplestiltskin! And you know it! You, your whole family… everyone in Storybrooke… are all still cursed! That's the real reason why you're going after everyone's magic here. You, me, along with everybody else, know full-well that the town is still cursed. That's why half the town has already left! You're gathering magic to counter this curse!"

"Curses! Curses! Curses!" he giggled mockingly toward the old man. "You seem to know an awful lot about curses for a garden gnome and I just don't have the time to deal with petty threats, especially ones against my family." With very limited patience, Rumple's upbeat demeanor quickly warped to intense anger and he magically throat-choked the man. He felt the old man's life in his grasp, but his curiosity prevented him from squeezing another centimeter. Anger flushed his face as Rumple hissed menacingly toward the man, "What could you possibly know of curses that hold any value to me?"

The older man gasped for air. Since he couldn't physically speak, he desperately mouthed the words he wanted to say and Rumple released his hold. After a few raspy breaths he explained, "I know… that your child… will be the cause… for Storybrooke's destruction."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"Storybrooke's a small town… If it wasn't for Henry's good leadership, transparency and fair-mindedness, all of Storybrooke would have been a ghost town already." It didn't surprise Rumple to hear about Henry's honesty, but it did disappoint him to learn about his inability to be discreet. It burned him a little inside to have his family matters exposed to the public, but knowing Henry's other side of his family it didn't surprise him that everyone knew of their family matters. Even if it meant sharing curses from past blood-feuds with everyone they knew. Rumple felt slightly betrayed, but that was another issue he would need to resolve for when he returned to Storybrooke.

"I'm right, aren't I?" the garden gnome egged. The comment left Rumple both speechless and concerned and he seemed to waiver in his constitution. The old man took advantage of Rumple's silence and continued almost sympathetically, "I know that you are going at great lengths to protect your daughter from that fate. All that magic you're collecting, it's to keep her in that illusion. I get that, but it has its cost too and its affecting Storybrooke. You'll see. Mark my words, people will find out what you're doing and when they do they will leave Storybrooke just I have. Now tell me, what good is a kingdom when there's nobody left to rule over?"

The exposure of his plans left Rumple feeling vulnerable and Rumple never liked the feeling of powerlessness. He had learned all that he needed from the gnome but what he needed the most at the moment was time. Time to reflect on all of the comments the gnome had mentioned. Rumple responded in his usual superior voice, "That's awfully brave of you to be so mouthy for a person who's tied up."

Rumple magically throat-choked the man again to which the old man gasped out, "No! Noo! Don't kill me! Please, I swear! I won't tell anybody!"

"No… you won't," ensured Rumplestiltskin and with a wave of his hand the old man magically passed out while still tied to the tree. With the recent blood still fresh on the blade, Rumple took the tip of his dagger and leaned it delicately by the man's temple. As if pulling string from a spindle, Rumple gently pulled away what appeared to be whispers of memories from his mind. A soft glowing string he had withdrawn from the man's mind floated in the air. When Rumple saw that he had withdrawn enough memory he cut away from the string leaving the remaining behind. He tossed up the strain of thought and diced at the memory destroying the thought.

The old man remained unconscious and Rumple stared at him curiously. He knew about Lily and the prophecy. He knew about the magic he was gathering to protect Lily. Rumple wondered how many other people about this. It certainly explained why there was a mass exodus happening in Storybrooke. The interaction did leave Rumple wondering. Was the new 'curse' Storybrooke was experiencing a result of his protecting his daughter from the prophecy?

As powerful and enigmatic as he was, he didn't realize that there were stories written about him in Storybrooke's world; stories that had left clues leading to his undoing. Surely Belle had known about this? Perhaps the reason why he hadn't had any issues up until now was due to her intervention at the library. As wonderful as the thought was, he realized that she had no control over who researched what on the internet so it was a moot point as to how people discovered his secret. People knew and he had to believe that this was the case. The realization suddenly left Rumple feeling vulnerable.

His encounter with the debtor reminded him of his original intention for finding the Author's pen. By finding the Author's pen and taking its power he could once again regain control over his own destiny and save his daughter by rewriting hers. He remembered being unsuccessful in taking the Author's pen from his son last year and speculated its location ever since. He also remembered being tricked by his son and grandson into finding a false pen. He needed the Author's power to gain his true name.

He recalled that day in his mind and reviewed every detail. He remembered Neal being invited to take ownership of the shop and departing with Henry. He remembered being able to follow them all the way to the library where he waited for them to come out… the library. The gnome's mention of Belle's book club. The missing Author's pen. Everything was pointing towards his wife. He needed to get back to Storybrooke. He needed to talk to Belle and get answers.

Taking the handkerchief from his front suit pocket, he wiped the blood from off his blade and then placed the cloth back inside its pocket. "There's no place like home," called out Rumple to his blade and he tapped the blade against the palm of his hand three times. In a flash, he disappeared from the Enchanted Forest and reappeared in Storybrooke next to his Cadillac which was parked in an abandoned lot by the docks.

The sun was setting as he drove home. Throughout the short trip home he couldn't help but wonder about his true name. He pondered upon the connection between what he wanted to know and how Belle had the answers. He trusted his intuition and for some reason his intuition was saying that Belle knew about the true location of the Author's pen.

* * *

 **Things are starting to heat up here, especially in the second half of the chapter. In case some of you were wondering what Rumple did all day in other realms, this hopefully gave you an idea through this pivotal scene. Obviously I'm taking a lot of liberty with the Rumplestiltskin lore, but hopefully its not too out of canon. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I look forward to hearing from you guys soon. Until then, see you next chapter!**


	7. A Lover's Quarrel

_…Flashback… six years ago… Storybrooke… same day…_

The sun had disappeared from the horizon but the dying rays from the evening glow were still showing as Rumplestiltskin turned onto the corner of his street and parked next to his wife in the driveway of the pink Victorian house. A flurry of thoughts swirled in his head, but the motivation to keep moving forward and to keep coming home was to see his family safe and protected. As he ascended the stairs to the front porch he exhaled a sigh of relief. His busy thoughts vanished from his mind and for a moment, he experienced a brief solace. He was home.

He opened the door and entered the foyer and was immediately bombarded with the delicious aromas that had permeated from the kitchen. As if anticipated, Belle was in the kitchen cooking supper. He walked into the kitchen expecting it to be just them when he saw his daughter waiting for him at the dining table with her arms crossed and a sullen look on her face. Without so much as a friendly greeting from his wife, he immediately started off the conversation with concern and asked, "What's going on? Why is Lily upset?"

Belle was busy in front of the oven when his sudden presence and question startled her. She shook off her nerves immediately and was ashamed that she wasn't more accustomed to his sudden appearances out of nowhere. She remembered how upset she was with Lily and replied coldly, "Why don't you ask your daughter?"

Rumple turned to his daughter and questioned her expectantly, "Well?"

A few ticks from the clock in the living room could be heard from within the dining room as Lily averted her gaze and shook her head indignantly. Belle waited only a few moments for Lily to respond and when she didn't Belle answered, "She ran away from school again."

Rumple glanced over at Belle one last time and then approached his daughter at the dining table. He grabbed the available seat and sat down directly in front of her so that he had a better view of her hazel eyes. "Lily…" addressed Rumple to his daughter. Lily promptly looked to her father and saw his serious and piercing eyes stare back at her. "Is this true?" Lily averted her gaze shamefully and nodded. "What happened?"

"School was boring," Lily claimed quickly. Rumple nodded to acknowledge her response, but then reiterated his question, "What _really_ happened?"

"Students were bothering me, so I left," explained Lily briefly as she shrugged her shoulders. Lily expected her father to reprimand her and waited anxiously for his response.

"Ok," understood Rumple simply. His response to finish the conversation came too quickly and at the surprise of both Belle and Lily.

" _That's all?!_ " protested Belle, disappointed that Rumple didn't do a better job at resolving Lily's issue. "She runs away from the school and all you can say is, _ok_?"

Rumple didn't even bother to look at Belle and instead instructed calmly to Lily, "Lily, why don't you go upstairs. Your mother and I need to have a talk." Lily knew exactly what that meant and she didn't want to be present for what was about to come. They were about to have an argument and it required both privacy as well as space. Lily obeyed her father and immediately ran upstairs to her bedroom.

The moment Belle heard Lily's bedroom door close, she continued spouting her protest, "Rumple! Her teachers were worried about her! I was worried!"

"Oh really? They didn't seem to be too concerned for her while she was there... getting bullied."

"You know that's not fair. Teachers can't be hovering over every student protecting them at every second of day. How is anyone able to understand freedom if they don't experience it for themselves? Lily's appropriate response should have been to report to a teacher. Not to run away from the school! You should have… you should have…" Belle's eyes gravitated to the blood-stained handkerchief that stuck out of his front suit pocket. Belle's tone lowered and she questioned, "Rumple, why is there blood on your handkerchief?!"

Rumple stood back up from the dining room chair and turned to his wife. He flashed a mischievous smirk and said very calmly, "To hear what I have to say, we're going to have to continue this conversation elsewhere." Before Belle could stop him, he waved his hand in front of his face and disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.

"Gah!" shouted Belle out loud in frustration. This was not how she had expected the evening to go and was not anticipating an impromptu magical excursion. Belle knew of their spot. Whenever they had to talk about something magical or perform something magical they'd magically whisk themselves away to this designated spot in the woods. With great detest, Belle waved her hand in front of her face and vanished from their home. When she appeared, the area in the woods was dark and damp. She called out into the darkened void, "Rumple?!"

When nothing but silence responded back to her she called out again, "Rumple, I know you're here. You know our daughter is back home. What if she comes out of her room to discover our absence?"

From behind her, he answered creepily, "I'm surprised you even remember how to use your magic." Right before Belle could respond he answered her concern and lifted a magical viewing orb from his pocket and said, "Don't worry about Lily. I'm watching her through this."

After seeing Lily through the orb reading a book on her bed, she looked to Rumple and stated, "Rumple, we can't be running off like this every time you want to prove your point through magic."

"Belle, there is something of grave concern I need to talk to you about. It involves magic, Lily and the Author."

Belle's disposition changed slightly over the change of topic and she questioned, "What about it?"

"First, tell me what you know about my Author?"

" _Your_ author? Rumple, what are you talking about?"

"From your book club… you've discussed sensitive information about me, through the stories that involve me."

"We've discussed our own stories, yes, but I don't have any control over whatever else people learn from the library."

Rumple turned to her in grave silence. He knew that she had his best interest at heart. His silence only made what he said more draconian. "Someone found out about my secret… a secret that could destroy me."

"What's the secret that could destroy you?" asked Belle whose eyebrows furrowed with genuine concern. She thought she knew everything about Rumplestiltskin, but apparently she knew just enough to love him and was blinded by everything else. Rumple waited another moment and hesitated to respond. It was as if he knew where the conversation was going to take them. He looked to her for assurance and when he looked into her eyes he knew that it would never be her intention to hurt or sabotage him. After great deliberation he finally said, "...my name."

"Your _name?_ " echoed Belle back in disbelief. "I don't understand. Your name is Rumplestiltskin."

"Only my true name when called upon three times can destroy me. Rumplestiltskin was a name my father gave to me when the fairies couldn't even bless me with one. It's always been my curse."

Belle pitied Rumple and reached out to him sympathetically. "Oh Rumple, I'm-I'm so sorry."

Rumple moved in closer to Belle and said, "Of course, if I had the Author's pen I can rewrite my fate."

Belle shook her head in confusion over the sudden suggestion. "Wait, what?" She stepped back from her husband to give him a double-take. She couldn't believe what she just heard.

"Belle, where's the Author's pen?" he asked more directly.

Belle became flabbergasted by the direct question. She did her best to guise what she knew and said, "What makes you think I have it?"

He sighed in frustration and said, "I know you have it. You always do that thing with your lip when you are trying to refrain yourself from speaking."

Rumple was right and Belle was unknowingly biting the corner of her lip. Belle hadn't realized that her face was giving herself away and she quickly recovered. She shouted back at him defensively, "Rumple, you know that pen is dangerous! It could rewrite our very existence and take away everything we've worked for till now. You'll be awakening the Author and inevitably destroying our happiness in the process. It's not worth pursuing, Rumple. You don't need that pen or its magic to save you. I still possess my magic. So why are you so worried?"

"You know exactly where it is!" accused Rumple as he growled in anger. His voice was getting steadily louder as his frustration and temper grew. "And you are not the only one in Storybrooke who possesses magic that could help me!"

Belle could sense her temperament match his. She knew exactly what he was implying and both options were out of the question because both led to their destructions. She knew that he proposed the pen or to wake Lily. She furrowed her brows and balled her fists. She stomped her way toward him and shouted fiercely back in his face, "If you value our family and our very existence you will do your best to stay clear of that pen!"

"Aargh!" shouted Rumple in anger. "I _will_ find that pen with or without your help!" he claimed as he pointed an authoritative finger at her.

"And I will do everything in my power to make sure that you don't!" declared Belle to her husband.

"You would be wise to not cross me!" he threatened.

"And you be wise to not threaten your wife!" Her response took him back. He couldn't even remember the last time they had argued like this. It was always painful being at opposite ends from each other. She was right; magic always complicated things between them. However, he truly believed that acquiring the pen would ensure his safety. Despite his quarrel with his wife, he felt justified to continue pursuing after the enchanted item. Belle continued, "You forget, I see you for what you are. You may intimidate others, but you don't frighten me, Rumplestiltskin. You're a good man and a wonderful father. Just know that when you find that pen... you know what that will mean to our family."

Rumple turned away from Belle as he attempted to regain his composure. Deep down he knew he was being selfish, but it was his incessant need for self-preservation that was driving him to pursue this. He looked up to the night sky and whatever stars he thought he saw through the canopy of trees he wished ironically to change his fate. Perhaps his fate was sealed, he thought. The way Rumple saw it, he wished more to change the fate of his daughter. From his perspective, Lily deserved to embrace her magic and had often wondered how their relationship would have been different had she had known about her abilities. Perhaps she would be the one to help change his fate, he wondered.

The damp dark forest was enough to subdue both of their tempers and to take a breath from the heated spat. He needed a moment to approach her civilly. Suddenly he felt an assured soft touch grace his shoulder. It was Belle's right hand on his left shoulder. Unbeknownst to each other, they were thinking the same thing. Rumple turned to see her hand on his shoulder and then continued looking at her with a worried look. "Belle," he began more calmly, "I don't want to die."

"I know you don't. I don't want you to die either."

"I don't want to die and not see Lily grow up," Rumple added, finishing the thought. "Baelfire was about this age when I lost him."

"But you have him back. Well, in a way you do."

"I know," acknowledged Rumple, but for some reason her reasoning didn't make him feel any better. Belle cupped both of her hands and when she brought them together she magically took the viewing orb that was once in his possession and held it within her hands. Together they looked on at the orb and saw Lily reading quietly on her bed.

"Lily is a special girl," noted Belle softly to her husband. "There aren't any books out there with her story. Maybe, this is a good thing. It means that her future isn't sealed to a fate dictated by some author. She can determine her own destiny and perhaps, change ours as a result. I have hope."

Her point did soothe his nerves and calmed him down, but only for a moment. Belle initiated the embrace and Rumple graciously accepted it. He needed to be comforted, but it wasn't his body that ached it was his mind. Neither one enjoyed arguing with the other, but sometimes things needed to be said out loud. The hug was an apology to one another, but unfortunately it did not sway Rumple in his opinion. There was a cost to hiding Lily's magic and Rumple was worried on what that cost might be.

* * *

 **A short chapter. Sorry about the timing of this posting. I'm sure this isn't what you wanted to read after Rumbelle's last episode! Yes, I just saw it. I cried. It was a beautiful episode. My opinion of course. Feel free to leave me a review and start a dialogue. As far as the direction of my story... Trust me, the story does get better. Remember, things are always darkest before the dawn. Until then, see you next chapter!**


	8. Dreams and Aspirations

_…Flashback… six years ago… Storybrooke… same evening…_

Both Belle and Rumple magically returned home in their own individual swirls of dust and magic, arriving at the stoop of their pink Victorian home. Belle turned to Rumple and briefly held his hand. When she looked up to him, he looked back to her as he fumbled with his words, "I'll... talk to her." Surprised to hear that he hadn't forgotten about their familial problems, Belle smiled as he continued, "You're right. Lily shouldn't have run away from the school. She knows our numbers. She should have at least tried to contact one of us."

Belle, gratified to hear that they were in agreement again, replied with great relief, "I'm glad that you understand my concern for her." Then her voice changed to that of worry as she postulated, "I mean, what if something had happened to her on her way back into town? How would we, or anyone else for that matter, have known to help her?"

He nodded in concurrence and consented to taking on the responsibility of ensuring her remediation by assuring, "She knows better. Don't worry. She will not be doing this again." He lifted Belle's hand to his face and kissed the top of it sincerely. She gave him another grateful smile and said appreciatively, "Thank you."

He released his grip from her and she proceeded back inside the house. Rumple lagged behind as he stared at his wife entering their home. From where he stood he could see the light to his daughter's bedroom still on. He thought about her problem. She was still getting bullied at school. Short of cursing all of her enemies into slugs, he knew that there had to be a better solution. He thought about how he was going to approach the situation and concluded that he either needed to intervene and dispense of her problem personally or he needed to facilitate something or someone to change. Before he could react to either situation, he needed to assess the situation first and get to the root of the problem. He needed to talk to her. Despite what Belle thought about him and his pursuit of the Author, Lily was always Rumple's top priority. She was, afterall the reason Rumple continued using magic.

Upstairs, Lily had gone to the bathroom and then returned to her bedroom. When she arrived to her room she was surprised to see her father standing in her bedroom staring stoically out her bedroom window. "Papa..." gasped Lily in surprise. "You-you startled me."

"Your mother tells me that you are still getting some unwarranted attention at school," he said while still staring out the window. "Is this true?" he asked as he finally turned to her.

"Yes," Lily replied meekly as she crawled back into her bed. Rumple stepped away from the window and approached his daughter who sat cross-legged on her bed with an open book in her lap. From what he saw, she wanted to appear casual and normal but deep down he knew that she was embarrassed by it all. He stood before her looking down at her in with his arms tucked around his back. His stark black suit created a darkened, intimidating shroud around him, but despite his stern looks he inquired softly, "What happened?"

Lily shrugged her shoulders timidly and said simply, "People were bothering me, so I walked away from them."

"Yes, but you walked beyond where you were supposed to. I'm very disappointed in you Lily because quite frankly, you know better than that." His comment really ate her up inside and she felt horrible. He approached her slowly. "You could have called upon either your mother or myself, but instead you took matters into your own hands and left without having told anyone. This troubles your mother and I because if something had happened to you, we wouldn't have never been able to forgive ourselves." He could tell how hurt she was for being reprimanded so he sat down beside her. "We love you. Very much so. And if you're having issues with something your mother and I want to know about it. Whatever it is we can figure it out together, ok?" He waited for Lily to reply and when she acknolwedged him with a head nod he quickly changed the tone of the conversation from condemnation to one of problem solving. "So how are we going to fix this? Should I speak with someone at your school?"

"No, Papa! Everyone already thinks I'm a freak for being your daughter. You'll just make things worse."

Rumple was struck by her comment. It hurt him to hear such things come out of his daughter's mouth because it echoed Baelfire so similarly. Still, he carried on, "Lily..." He exhaled a frustrated sigh and then rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "We need to do something. You're being tormented and it just kills me to see you this way. I will not allow it. So tell me, honestly, what happened? I don't care how bad you think it is I want to know what's wrong. So what is it, sweetheart?"

" _What's wrong?_ " reiterated Lily angrily as she raised her voice. "This whole town is what's wrong! Something isn't right. Can't you feel it?" Rumple understood exactly what she was referring to; the cost, but could she really tell? Was it a coincidence that she felt something strange in the town as well? "You're right. I should have called Mum, but I didn't want to talk to her. And even if I had wanted to call you, you would have been too busy or off on some business trip. I had even gone to the shop to try to talk to Neal, but the shop was closed. You know who was left? My therapist. Isn't that pathetic?"

"First of all, you know that's not true. I would have answered your call. Second, did you even try to call me?" Lily looked to her father and paused. He was right. She was so caught up in the flurry of distress that she hadn't even bothered to find a phone to contact any of her parents. "That can't be all that's bothering you?" prodded Rumple further with deep concern.

Lily teared up and said more sincerely, "You'd think that being as notorious as we are I'd have someone to talk to, but I didn't..." Lily suddenly thought about Neal Nolan and realized that he did attempt to save her, but like everything else, it was always too little too late. Rumple stared down at his hands as he continued listening intently. "In that one moment Papa, I felt... _alone_."

Her last word hung in the air like poisonous smog and it left the pair in deafening silence. He brought her close and then kissed the top of her head. "But, my dear, that's where you are wrong. You're never be alone," he replied while they embraced. He continued hugging her dearly. "And you'll never be alone, you want to know why?" She looked up to him beneath his warm embrace with hopeful eyes as he answered, "because you are magical and with magic... all things are possible."

Lily rolled her eyes and stated incredulously as they pulled away from each other, "Magic, Papa? _Really?_ Those are your encouraging words? Magic is for babies and make believe. I'm too old for that."

Rumple scoffed at her comment and then said with a smirk, "Trust me, you're never too old for magic." Upon seeing how she handled the 'magic' comment he decided to take a different approach and explained further. "Look, what I'm trying to say is that you're brilliant. You're so loved and so magnetic that it'll be impossible for anyone who loves you to be too far away. Trust me. Someday, someone will see you the way I do."

Lily thought about her father's comment and thought about Neal Nolan. He did, at least, always seem to try and help her. Lily wondered if there was something more to it. Seeing that Lily had opened up Rumple asked, "Who was it this time? Was it the same person?"

Lily shook her head and replied, "It was a different person. Only, this person had a scar over his eye."

Rumple was fishing for a name, but he knew that Lily was deliberately being less than forthcoming. She was being clever and was trying to avoid a confrontation between her father and her assailant. Bluntly, Rumple asked, "What's his name?"

"I'm not going to tell you his name."

"And why won't you tell me his name?"

"Because I know how you are with names and it always comes back to haunt me in the end."

In confusion, Rumple questioned, "I don't understand. Are you trying to protect your abuser?"

"No, I just don't want to see anybody else hurt."

"Who said that anybody was going to get hurt?"

"Papa..." started out Lily as she rolled her eyes incredulously at her father. "We both know that you have a pension for the dramatic."

Rumple chortled at the comment, thinking the same thing about her and replied, "Oh, do I?"

Lily had no idea how to respond and they both allowed his comment to hang in the air. He knew that what she said wasn't a lie. Right before Rumple had a chance to respond, Lily took advantage of the silence and attempted to change the subject. "I just want to forget about this. Ok? I promise I won't run away anymore. I'll find a teacher next time." Rumple nodded his head in satisfactory and upon seeing that her father was much more receptive she continued, "Papa, I've been thinkng..."

"Oh?"

"I'm going to focus more on my studies. I want to be done with Storybrooke Academy and go straight to college."

" _College?_ That's mighty fast." He couldn't believe they were already having this conversation.

"Yes, and the quickest route for me to get there is to do really well in school, skip a few grades and prove myself college ready to all my teachers."

"You seem awfully keen on being done with school..." but he could tell right away that it wasn't her education that she had a problem with. It was the town. He couldn't blame her for wanting to run away. "Now your mother," Rumple added. "If you can remember, she worked at NYU's library for a time."

"That's... another thing I wanted to talk to you about," mentioned Lily hesitantly. Rumple raised an eyebrow out of both concern and curiosity as he listened. "I want to attend New York University. I want to go back home to New York. Is our old home still there?"

This was all happening too quickly for Rumple. They had just moved back to Storybrooke two years ago and he finally felt like he reached a place of complacency with all things. He blinked a few times out of disbelief but then carried on as he pointed out to her, "Yes, but Lily, this is your home."

"I know..." she replied sadly.

He could sense how unhappy she was. He could practically feel the weight of her sadness on his shoulders and wanted desperately to remedy the situation. He took a few moments to soak in what she said and tried to reason out her logic. She wasn't intending on doing anything dangerous. Instead, he felt proud of her and had to give her praise for finding an alternate and positive solution to her problem.

"I'll tell you what," he began. The moment she heard the beginning of his proposition she turned to him with hopeful eyes and her face lit up in anticipation. "When you're much much older, you can stay at our old place in New York so you can attend college there, but," he lifted his finger at the stipulation as he said the conjunction, "no more running away and being disrespectful to your mother, deal?" Lily nodded enthusiastically. Rumple continued, " _and_... you must answer this one question truthfully for me..." Lily leaned in, waiting with bated breath on what the question could be. The finger he had pointed up in the air slowly turned down until it was pointing right at her. "Who suggested this to you?"

At first, Lily was offended that her father didn't believe her idea was original, but then again, she also knew to never doubt her father's perceptiveness. "Roland Locksley," she answered honestly yet timidly.

He squinted his eyes to scrutinize her statement and made his judgement slowly, " _Locksley_... you mean the boy who vandalized the town, terrorized dozens of families including us and claimed they all had magic?"

Lily nodded, confirming the same individual. Rumple automatically disapproved and it was obvious as he turned to look away from his daughter. What angered him the most wasn't that he harbored any leftover anger from the vandalism, it was the fact that he suggested this idea to have his daughter leave him prematurely. He stewed as he thought of more reasons to dislike the boy. Lily could see her father's disapproval grow on his face, so she quickly defended Roland and explained.

"He's changed, Papa," she said as she placed a caring hand on his wrist. He noticed her soft gentle hand on his and was more inclined to look at her when she spoke. "When I went to see Dr. Hopper today I was actually intruding on his session and it was Roland who brought me to Mum."

"Ah, I see," acknowledged Rumplestiltskin, but the explanation did nothing to waver his opinion of her friend. "Well, I think you should get some sleep. We'll discuss your schooling arrangments in the morning with your mother." Lily rolled her eyes at the comment which Rumple took notice and slight offense to as she got underneath her bed covers. "I really meant what I said in regards to your mother. You might not take her seriously, but you'll soon come to find that she is rarely wrong, and that you'll find no greater ally than her." Lily nodded compliantly and Rumple sealed the mutual understanding with a kiss to her forehead. "Sweet dreams, my love."

Rumple got up and flipped the switch to her bedroom light off as he left her room and shut her door. Lily got under the covers and turned in her bed to where she was facing her bedroom window to get comfortable when she noticed specks of dirt on the rug in the pale moon light. Lily immediately turned on the lamp that was on her side table next to her bed to investigate further. She got out of her bed to investigate the tracks when she also noticed fresh pine needles on the floor which could have only gotten there from her father who was standing and pacing in those exact spots in her room. The dirt on the floor was fresh and moist and suggested that it was fairly recent visit. It made Lily wonder how they got there, especially since the only pine needles in Storybrooke was in Storybrooke Forest. _What was Papa doing in Storybrooke Forest?_

Lily picked up one of the needles from the floor and stared at it intensely. She pondered how it was possible for pine needles to have traveled so far in such a short span of time. She knew that her parents had stepped outside for only a moment for privacy, but she also knew that there weren't any pine trees in her neighborhood and the forest was on the opposite end of town. Lily had so many questions flood her mind as she returned to her bed. What was her father and mother doing in the forest? How could they have traveled so far yet so quickly in one evening?

This wasn't the first time she noticed pine needles in their home and she knew of her parents venturing into the forest occassionally. It made Lily wonder what was going on in the forest that had her parents retreat there every time they needed a private moment together. None of it made sense to her as she crawled back underneath her covers. She placed the pine needle on her side table and turned off her lamp light.

She pondered and pondered until she could think no more and fell asleep.

 _It was a dark room, darker than anything she could have imagined. Despite her surroundings being as dark as they were she could still see her body as clear as day._

 _"Where am I?" she wondered outloud to herself. There was no echo when she spoke, no form or definition of her placement in space. She couldn't even tell what it was that she was walking on, but knew somehow that it was solid. It was the only thing that made sense as to how it was that she was still standing and it kept her oriented. She moved about the void._

 _"Hello?" she called out again. Nothing replied back to her, but the response to her question came back to her through her intuition. Somehow, the answer reverberated throughout her body. The call made her feel like this place was her destiny, that she would be coming back to this place again. Lily didn't feel like she was in any danger, but she did find the whole ordeal alarming; especially with how she was coming to this knowledge. Her intuition spoke to her again, and for many reasons she needed to wake up. Lily couldn't agree more. She wanted to wake up from this eerie place._

 ** _…LIIIIIILLLYYYY…_**

 _Lily spun about where she stood to identify the familiar voice, but no figure came out to greet her. The last time she had heard this call was when she had run into Neal Nolan earlier in the day after he had shoo'd away her bullies at school, and then she had heard the voice after she had a conversation with Neal at the hospital a year ago. This voice was somehow tied to Neal Nolan and she couldn't explain why. Dark room, voice, destiny, Neal Nolan. This was somehow being communicated to her and it was something she just couldn't fathom. It was as if the answers were just beyond her grasp._

 _Her mother. For some reason, the idea of her mother popped up into her consciousness and she called to it. "Mother!" called out Lily into the emptiness. The name brought around the feeling of being grounded, centered. Almost immediately she felt comforted and safe. She called out into it again, "Mama!" Clarity was beginning to take hold and Lily was beginning to take control of this dream._

"Mama!" called out Lily again as she sat up in her bed in a pool of her own sweat. She looked around the room and found herself shaking. It was a dream, wasn't it? Lily felt dizzy and confused.

Suddenly, Lily heard thumpings from down the hall coming from her parents' bedroom. Her mother immediately opened Lily's bedroom door and rushed to her side. Belle gathered Lily and brought her to her chest. "I'm here, love," soothed Belle to her daughter. Belle felt how saturated Lily's clothes were and remarked helplessly, "Oh honey, you're sweating! Are you ok? Was it a dream?"

"I-I think so," replied Lily, dazed and confused. Rumple came into Lily's bedroom and observed studiously.

"What happened?" questioned Rumple who had entered the threshold to Lily's bedroom and was looking on with concern.

"It was just a dream," answered Belle plainly.

"Yes, but what kind of dream?" His question wasn't beyond merit, but the timing of the questioning wasn't appropriate. His daughter was both shakened and confused and Belle defensively responded, "Rumple! Can't you see that you're daughter is in distress? We can talk about the dream later. Right now, she needs to be calmed back down."

Seeing that he wasn't doing any good being present he left Lily's bedroom and returned to bed. There wasn't anything he could do at that moment that Belle wasn't already doing, or so he justified in his mind. The moment Rumple left Belle began rocking Lily back and forth in her arms.

"You were little the last time I rocked you to sleep like this," murmured Belle softly to Lily. Belle reflected with joy over the memories she still had of her and her daughter when they were in New York. She looked back in fondness over how simple their lives were in New York and in an instant felt sad that it had come down to soothing her daughter like this. Lily didn't respond to Belle's whispered observation and instead nuzzled harder, holding onto her mother so tightly that is seemed as though her life depended on it. "Oh honey..." whimpered Belle sympathetically as she felt the squeezes come from her daughter.

Belle welcomed the nurturing and was grateful to be there for Lily, but she was greatly disturbed by what had just happened. The nature over which Lily had receded to needing Belle's comfort like this gave her pause. It had been a long time since they had last experienced something such as this and it made her wonder. What did she dream to invoke such a reaction? Was this another traumatizing dream like the one she had experienced years ago? As tender as this moment was between herself and her daughter it was also an ominous one. It made her worry about the future and what was to become of them as a result of it.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Ended a little dark, but the next chapter I'm looking forward to publishing soon! When it comes to Lily, dreams always seem ominous. In this chapter I liked showing Lily bond with her mother. I kind of portrayed that Lily only bonded with her father (and true, she does gravitate towards her father often), but I wanted to showcase that Belle was just as adequate at comforting Lily. Thank you for reading. I look forward to reading your reviews! Until then, see you next chapter.**


	9. Two Deals, a Hat and a Wedding

_Present day..._

Once they were within a safe distance from the house, the engine to the motorcycle roared triumphantly and it skirted quickly back through town to return to Storybrooke's cemetary. Lily felt the thrill and rush of excitement as Roland whisked her away on his motorcycle to their favorite hang out spot. It was getting late in the evening and she was certain that her mother would have kittens if she found out that she had escaped the house without her knowledge or consent. She smiled in rebellious pleasure as the wind blew through her raven-dyed hair beneath the helmet Roland insisted she had to wear.

" _The last thing I need is a death threat from your father who already doesn't like me_ ," was the reason for his insistence on safety. " _My hero_ ," sassed Lily sarcastically back as she placed the helmet on her head.

When they arrived to the cemetary they both respectively placed their helmets back on the parked bike and walked past the iron gates to get to the bench beneath the oak tree in the cemetary. They both knew that they were breaking grounds rules by being in the cemetary after hours, so to add insult to injury Roland brought with him his bow and holster full of arrows.

Lily saw that Roland was setting up for target practice and had to remark. "Isn't it against the rules to brandish a weapon in open public?"

"It's after hours and we're inside a cemetary. The only people here that are alive are you and me. I'm sure the dead won't mind. Besides, you weren't so concerned for the rules when we broke them by coming in here after hours."

Lily shrugged her shoulders, seeing that there wasn't anything wrong with what they were doing she helped set up his targets for him. There were spare apples in the side saddles of his bike and she placed them along the tops of various tombstones for him to shoot at. As they did so they chatted about their day.

"So," began Roland as he withdrew an arrow from his holster and prepared to take aim. "How's school going?"

"It's... going."

The conversation immediately died and silence filled the air between them as Roland waited for Lily to elaborate. He shot his first arrow, splitting the apple in two when he remarked, "You know, for someone who claims that she wants to major in writing, you seem to suddenly be at a loss for words." He turned to Lily and saw her fidget. He knew what that meant. She wanted to ask him a question she knew he wouldn't like. "Spit it out. What's the question?"

"We've been friends for quite a few years now... and, well, the Academy is having a dance... you-you wouldn't be interested in going with me, would you?"

"To the dance? _Me?_ You mean Prince Charming hasn't asked you yet?"

"No. Not really. I don't think his popularity would allow him to socialize with people like me."

"He should feel honored to have the privilege of being with someone as original as yourself," remarked Roland when suddenly he realized what she was asking him. Roland sighed as he plucked another arrow from his holster to take aim. "Lily, you know how I feel about dances."

"I know," said Lily in embarrassment. She was already regretting asking her closest friend. She needed to think of something quick to convince him. "If you do this for me, I can see about getting you the funds you need for your trip out of Storybrooke."

Roland chuckled at the bribe and shook his head. In his mind, he just couldn't picture Lily truly enjoying a social activity such as that. "Let me think about it." His remark left Lily hopeful. It was quite apparent that she wanted to go to this dance. "I just can't believe that you enjoy that sort of thing," noted Roland as he let loose another arrow, hitting his target flawlessly and with perfect technique.

"If it's a matter of finding a tux, I'm sure I can-" started out Lily, but she was soon cut off by Roland.

"-that..." he started as he shot off another arrow, "won't be a problem. You forget that a lot of our familial circles overlap. That's kind of the reason why I want to get out of this blasted town."

Roland withdrew another arrow and took aim. The shadows played with his eyes and he didn't see the dark figure stand in the way as he released the arrow. The two gasped as they realized who it was. In the most well-timed and executed feat of coordination, Mr. Gold gripped at the arrow that was merely a few inches from his chest and stopped it midair before it penetrated him. Gold appeared crossed and with his finely cut short hair and slick dark suit it made him look even more stern and ominous.

" _Papa!_ " cried out Lily in alarm as she ran towards her father with concern. Mr. Gold didn't so much as flinch as he coolly looked up to follow the arrow's point of origination. He looked up and saw Roland's blanched face staring back at him.

"Oh crap..." was all Roland could say as he took a step back in fear. Roland stuttered as he spoke, "Mister-mister Gold. I'm-I'm so sorry sir."

Mr. Gold strolled up casually to Roland with the arrow still in hand, but was bombarded by his daughter who ran up to him and hugged him in relief to see that he was unaffected. "That! That was amazing, Papa! How-how are you still alive?" Lily remarked in disbelief as she examined his body for any further injury.

"Lucky timing, I suppose," said Mr. Gold nonchalantly as he stared Roland down with a look that could kill. Lily took a step back from her father to give him some space to walk and when she noticed the threatening look he was giving Roland.

"Sir, I am _so_ sorry," apologized Roland again.

"I think it would be best if you left Roland, before the authorities arrive. I'm sure another mark on your record would certainly prevent you from ever leaving Storybrooke again. And we don't want that now, do we?" said Mr. Gold threateningly. The threat certainly did the trick for Roland who quickly gathered whatever belongings that surrounded him and darted off to his motorcycle. Roland's motorcycle instantly roared into life and he took off leaving both father and daughter alone in the cemetery together.

"What was that for?!" cried out Lily angrily toward her father.

"You need better friends, dearie," said Rumple bitterly to his daughter.

"He apologized! You didn't have to threaten or scare him off like that."

"Yes, I did!" countered Rumple fiercefully to Lily. "Because you two were both in a place where you shouldn't have been, especially at this late hour. Come, your mother's probably worried sick about you."

" _Probably_ worried sick about me?" echoed Lily back questionably. "She still doesn't know that I'm here, does she?"

Rumple placed a guiding hand on Lily's backside and deliberately pushed her forward, ushering her towards the Cadillac which was parked just in front of the cemetery gates. As he guided her along the pathway back he added, "And you can forget about our deal. The condo in New York is now forbidden."

Lily immediately stepped away from her father to face him. She shouted back hysterically, " _What?!_ I didn't break our deal!"

"Oh yes, my dear, you most certainly have. Might I remind you, that part of the deal we made long ago was to never run away again and to no longer disrespect your mother. And you went ahead and did both!"

"I didn't run away," argued Lily whose voice had gone shrill. "I just... left."

"I see no difference," countered Rumple.

"To run away is to imply that I would never return. I left with the intention of returning. And besides, you haven't even gone home yet to check on Mum's condition. She's probably still cooking dinner thinking I'm still upstairs in my room. So how could she have possibly known that I disrepected her?"

It was a sorry attempt on Lily's end to assuage her father over the semantics of her deal-breaking. In the end, she broke their deal and she would have to live with the consequences. Rumple knew this and knew that he had to enforce those consequences. With authority he demanded forcefully, "There's no negotiating. The deal is off because you violated it. Period. Now get in the car, we're going home."

They both reached the car and Lily got in first. She opened the passenger's side and got in reluctantly, slamming the car's door so furiously that it wouldn't have surprised Rumple to see the door fall off its hinges. Fortunately enough, the door was still intact by the time Rumple got into the driver's seat. Rumple heaved an exhaustive sigh as he turned to look at his daughter. She leaned her head against the door's window and stared out it. To Rumple, it always amazed him how much she looked like Belle, especially whenever she was mad or upset.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked bluntly.

" _What's wrong with you?_ " mocked Lily as she shook her head in disgrace. "How tactful, father. _What's wrong with me?_ Everything is wrong with me. I'm this town's pariah."

"You are not the town Pariah."

"Oh yeah? Then how come you scared away the only friend of mine who doesn't think me strange or dangerous?"

Rumple sat there struggling to remember the last time she acted this way. Finally, it occurred to him what it could possibly be and he asked gently, "I don't understand. I thought we were beyond this. You haven't acted like this in a really long time. The last time you rebelled like this something happened to you at school. Were you bullied again?"

Lily didn't reply and instead crossed her arms protectively. Rumple took her indignant response as a confirmation to his assumption. He sighed again as he turned the vehicle on and they started on their trek home. After a few moments of silence, Lily asked her father, "How did you know I was at the cemetery?"

"I didn't. Henry's wife was the one who saw you two riding in this direction. I just so happened to be on my way home when Henry called and made the connection."

... ...

 _…Flashback… five years ago… Granny's Diner…_

The wedding ceremony at the church was absolutely divine; everything Storybrooke could offer for it's local royals. And it was perfectly fit for royalty. It was as if the whole town had come together to spare no expense and ensure that both Henry and Paige had the wedding all couples would blush with envy for centuries. Of course, considering who Henry was related to along with the kindness and connections Henry had made over the years, people were more than happy to oblige. The ceremony took place at the convent, but not everyone could attend inside. Only immediate family and friends. Those who couldn't sit inside, peered through the open chapel doors from outside and stood waiting for the happy couple to arrive at the steps. The whole town, along with others from many other worlds and realms, had come to Storybrooke to witness and help celebrate the newlyweds, which made for an extremely large wedding reception.

Outsiders would have thought a town festival was taking place when in fact it was just the wedding party. The reception party had burst out of Granny's Diner and overflowed onto main street with borrowed tables from other establishments to accommodate all who had come. Balloons and streamers hung from every street lamp and shop. The music, which erupted from the speakers set up close to Granny's, thumped so loudly that all of main street seemed to have gained a pulse suddenly. As the sun was beginning to set the white christmas lights, which were normally brought out for the holidays, were brought out again to light up the street.

So many people had attended that it was enough to get lost in the crowd which was what Mr. Gold and Lily had hoped for, except Belle. No matter where they went, the crowd would disperse at their presence and give at least a three-foot girth about them. As notorious as the Gold family was in Storybrooke, Rumplestiltskin was even more notorious throughout the realms and everyone across the realms had been invited there.

The family heard rude whispers as they passed to greet Henry and Paige at the wedding section. It was like a dark shroud had hovered about them no matter where they went. Although Rumple was accustomed to it, Lily was not and it made her nervous. Rumple could sense her unease and kept her close. Without turning his head, he looked about the crowd vigilantly for anything suspicious. They all knew they were being watched closely. Despite being constantly watched, they all still kept their heads up and maintained their course as if nothing was wrong.

The wedding section was just inside the fencing of Granny's courtyard. Henry and Paige sat at the very corner up against the wall by the fencing, so that all who passed by them could still personally offer their congratulations and blessings. An unofficial line constantly passed by the courtyard and in that line stood the Gold family as they made their way toward Paige and Henry.

"Grandpa!" greeted Henry who was grinning ear to ear when Mr. Gold, Belle and Lily finally arrived by their table. "Glad to see you that you had made it."

"Believe me," started out Gold as he glanced back at the crowd. "I don't think anyone would have wanted to miss this."

"It is quite the celebration. Isn't it?" added Paige.

"It most certainly is," concurred Belle as she gathered Lily by her side.

"Congratulations Paige... Or, is it Grace?" inquired Mr. Gold. Suddenly Jefferson, Paige's father, appeared and interrupted the gathering by inserting his own thoughts into the conversation. Jovially, Jefferson inserted, "It is. It's both actually. No thanks to that lovely curse, of course." He finished his thought with a sarcastic smile.

" _Father..._ " murmured Paige with embarrassment. She hoped he wouldn't cause a scene at their table. She knew immediately of her father's pension for blunt honesty. It was in his character to have little patience for trivial talk. It was also in Jefferson's belief to always point out the elephant in the room. It was one of the many reasons why Jefferson found himself often times alone because nobody liked hearing the truth. Jefferson noticed Paige's offense and remarked, "Oh not to worry, love. Rumplestiltskin and I go way back. Don't we buddy?"

Jefferson got uncomfortably close to Gold and gave him an awkward side-hug like they were old chums. It was evident how awkward Rumple felt and it was written all over his face. Jefferson seemed to deliberately make Mr. Gold feel uneasy and Paige saw it for what it was. They both knew that they were trying to save face for the couple. When the feeling became too much to handle, Gold took his hand and politely removed Jefferson's hand from off of his shoulder as if it was a repulsive piece of rubbish that had somehow fallen onto his shoulder. "Unfortunately, yes," was all Gold say in response, his voice practically dripping with irritation.

" _Unfortunately?_ Oh come on! After all those traveling adventures together? Oh well, I suppose that's one person's perspective," remarked Jefferson jovially, ignoring the indignant response of his old comrade. Without skipping a beat Jefferson continued, "And speaking of perspectives, Belle good to see you looking sprite and young as ever."

"Um, thank you," blushed Belle.

"If you ask me, it looks like nobody's really changed," remarked Jefferson as he looked around the vicinity. Paige wanted to quickly contradict her father but as she looked around along with everyone else, he wasn't wrong. It was an odd yet interesting observation that until pointed out nobody had really noticed. Perhaps it was the happy occasion that everyone had such youthful rosey cheeks, but none of the adults had seemed to age. Even Leroy seemed to have gained color in his hair where gray once resided.

After a moment of what seemed to be an awkward pause to glance around the area Henry cleared his throat and shared, "The lighting around Granny's patio has always made everyone glow. At least, that's what I've always noticed having worked a summer here."

His comment seemed to put everyone at ease, except for Rumple who continued to stare at Jefferson peculiarly. Without tearing his gaze away from Jefferson, Gold added, "Of course."

"Well, Henry," interrupted Belle, who helped bring the focus of attention back to the happy couple, "congratulations on your marraige. This wedding will have everyone talking for a really long time."

"It's certainly been the talk at City Hall since it's taken a lot of my influence to make this possible. You're welcome by the way," interrupted Regina who came by herself to greet the Gold family personally.

"Thanks Mom. This has been incredible," thanked Henry with complete awe. Regina smiled to her son and replied with a loving smiled, "Anything for you, my love." Regina turned to Gold and remarked, "And thanks to your grandfather's... generosity, each establishment on main street was able to close for a day to prepare without having to lose out on the income needed to pay him rent."

Mr. Gold feigned a smile and replied, "Anything for family."

"Isn't family great?" Jefferson contributed dryly. "Well, this has certainly been fun, but I truly must make my rounds." Jefferson turned to Gold and with an expectant look said, "Perhaps we'll bump into each other again."

Once Jefferson was just out of ear-shot, Paige immediately apologized, "You must forgive him. His social skills have never been his forte."

Before anyone could add their opinion over the matter, Lily finally spoke up and asked Regina, "Madam Mayor, do you um... do you know where Roland is?"

Surprised and flattered to have been so formally addressed, Regina replied gladly, "He's here. The last I saw him he was over by the icecream shop. I think it's because Elsa's icecream shop has an open bar. It's where the other kids are at."

Lily immediately turned to her mother with imploring eyes which caused Belle to turn to her husband. Rumple shrugged his shoulders and said, "It's alright by me. Have a good time."

Lily grinned from ear to ear and bolted from the group. Belle, startled by how quick Lily was, called after her, "Meet us back at the Pawn shop when you're done! Lily!" Belle sighed as she turned to the rest of the group and mentioned, "Well, I suppose a scoop or two of icecream does sound pretty good on a warm night like this. Congratulations again Henry. Rumple?"

"I'll catch up with you guys later. I think I'll be making my own rounds for now."

"Oh, ok. See you at the shop."

Rumple nodded and then left the wedding table for others to make their congratulatory statements. Rumple walked up and down main street, looking around for a specific person. He blocked out the music and laughter as he searched, treating it all like white noise until he came to a darkened side-street beside the candy store. Suddenly a voice called out to him from the darkened ally and asked, "Do you enjoy lollipops? My Grace swears by these. She says it's better than smoking."

Jefferson was sucking on a lollipop as he stepped closer to Mr. Gold in the limelight. Gold said, "I'm not one for sweets. Not my cup of tea."

"Ah! But deal-making... that's still your cup of tea, right?"

The way Jefferson was able to pivot and turn a conversation was something Mr. Gold really liked about Jefferson and it piqued his interest. "Perhaps," said Gold with smirk.

"Well how about this scenario," began Jefferson as he paced around Mr. Gold. "You, me... Enchanted Forest. You take me there via... well I don't know how exactly you traverse back and forth these days. Let me get straight to the point. I'm missing material for my hats. I need to get my spool, which is still hidden in my old cabin, and for that I will tell you what you've been wondering since your daughter gave up magic."

"I already know what I'm wondering. You don't need to tell me that..."

"-then perhaps answers." Jefferson seemed rather forceful with his offer as Gold contemplated what he was getting into. Gold deliberated for moment before saying, "Why haven't you spoken to your lovely new son-in-law about this?"

Jefferson seemed to wince over the idea then replied as if having thought this before, "Yeah, well, you see... this kind of transportation I want off the books. You understand the need for discretion, don't you?"

"I'm already being watched by my own family. Every move I make now is being held under incredible suspicion. And now that you're in it, our moves would have to be even more tactical and inconspicuous."

"Well then let's go now!" suggested Jeffferson as he tossed the lollipop carelessly behind him waving his hands in the air with excitement and then rubbing them together. "With everyone distracted from the wedding, we can take advantage of this moment of spontaneity." Gold's face reflected a moment of doubt as he thought of his family and looked longingly for them. Jefferson took notice of this and assured, "It wouldn't take long. We'll be back long before your wife and kid are finished with their icecreams."

Gold furrowed his eyebrows in scrutiny as he stared down his old friend. As he thought about it they weren't exactly friends, merely two individuals that didn't hate each other but benefited from one another. Rumple weighed in on the pros and cons. It wasn't exactly a secret that Lily was involved in the death of Killian Jones, but the trauma from having used magic to do it was what caused her to retreat to 'normalcy'. Ever since then, Gold had used every spell imaginable to create this bubble illusion for her. It took a lot of magic to sustain it, but he had no idea at what cost. Rumple thought of the older man from a year ago claiming that he was still cursed. What was that curse? He wondered. What did Jefferson know and how did he come by the knowledge? Rumple just had to find out and figured it worth the business venture.

Mr. Gold slowly withdrew his kriss dagger from within his coat jacket, to which Jefferson's eyes bulged slightly with concern. Thinking things had suddenly turned for the worse for him, Jefferson joshed to ease the tension, "Woah! It was only a suggestion. You just said it yourself. We're family now, remember?"

"Hardly, but...," In the most intimidating way, Mr. Gold patted the blade of his dagger against his palm and replied calmly, "With every friendship there must be an element of trust. Isn't that right, friend?"

"Of course," agreed Jefferson whole-heartedly as he raised his hands in defense.

"Because if you cross me _friend_ ," Mr. Gold warned as he stepped closer to Jefferson, "there won't be any place that I can't find you. Are we clear?"

" _Crystal_ ," gulped Jefferson as he wondered in fear what Rumplestiltskin had in store. Mr. Gold gave a sinister smile and said, "Good. Now let's go get your spool."

Mr. Gold twirled his dagger dangerously close to Jefferson's face and then finished the action with three gentle taps to Jefferson's shoulder. In the blink of an eye, the two gentlemen left Storybrooke and reappeared inside Jefferson's cabin in the Enchanted Forest. With great astonishment, Jefferson twirled around in excitement. He was finally home. The cabin smelled of old timber and decades worth of built up dust, but still Jefferson inhaled and exhaled lovingly. With complete nostalgia he sighed, "Ah, no place like home."

Without wasting a moment, Jefferson went directly to a floor board hidden underneath some carpet in the far corner of his cabin. Gold watched him suspiciously as he placed his dagger safely back inside his coat jacket. He observed curiously as Jefferson lifted the carpet and board to reveal a spool of what seemed to be golden thread. Out of pure excitement and satisfacton he shouted from the corner, "Eureka!"

Rumplestiltskin was not as impressed as he remarked feeling insulted, "Gold thread? We didn't have to come all the way out here for that. You do realize what I do for a hobby, right?"

"Ah yes, but can your thread take you to other worlds?" Suddenly Rumple's interest was piqued and Jefferson continued, "This thread comes from the rare golden fleece, and when dipped in the sap of an enchanted tree it can transport you to other magical worlds."

" _Magical_ worlds. You do realize that getting back to Storybrooke might present a problem."

"Ah yes. That _would_ present a problem..." Suddenly Jefferson's face lit up gleefully as he quickly pointed out, "but then, of course, it is a good thing that I know somebody in my immediate family with a special timepiece to get me to my Grace." Rumple knew exactly who he as referring to, but to be cheeky he lifted his finger like he was about to contest that awfully similar description to another character when Jefferson interrupted him and answered before he could speak, "And no, it's not the white rabbit. That blasted hare still owes me money. Oh, and uh, I would offer you some of the twine except, you already have a magical transportation device so... it would seem a bit redundant, wouldn't it?"

Rumple, tired of Jefferson's frivolity, demanded, "Tell me what I need to know so that we can be done with this and go back."

"Impatient, are we? Well, ask yourself," began Jefferson as he paced around the room picking things up and setting them down. "In these past few years, have you noticed how strange we're all beginning to look? Or should I say, _not_ look?" When Jefferson turned to Rumple and realized that the answer was 'no', he gasped in surprise. " _You mean you haven't?_ I would have thought it quite obvious."

"Enough with the circumvention. What is it that you know?"

Jefferson could tell with Rumple's frustration that he'd better get to the point quick, so he stopped his side-stepping and faced him with seriousness. "The Author's magic still resides in Storybrooke because we are all living in a world of the Author's creation. In Storybrooke, we're nothing but timeless characters immortalized in a story book; therefore, like any character in a book we're never going to age unless the Author dictates it so. That's the curse: we can never age. We're alive for one reason, and that is to bring closure to the Author's story. Some reader... somewhere out there is reading this right now and with every word read in the mind of that reader we're breath'd into life.

It's an ironic trap, really; that this curse, that many in Storybrooke are fleeing from, is being sustained by a reader reading about us. When you first read a story and the characters are introduced, you establish a sort of permanent image in your mind of what that character looks like. So that as you read the story you know exactly what that character looks like when they interact. Sure the characters change, but they never age unless the Author writes it in to add to the plot. We are at the mercy of the reader. You, me, everyone! As long as the reader continues to read our story... _this_ story... we continue to exist, but the moment the reader loses interest and quits reading the story the story dies. And if the story dies, _we_ die. I only noticed it myself a few years ago. It was right about the time your daughter coincidentally 'dreamt' away her magic, but it could have been earlier. There's no telling from our perspective when our story actually began, or when it will officially end."

"That's quite a theory," said Rumple skeptically as he took his turn to move about the cabin. "I'm curious as to what medication you're on to arrive at this conclusion."

"It's not a theory! _I'm not mad!_ " exclaimed Jefferson in detested fury. He never did like the feeling of madness or of being insinuated for it. He spent too long being cooped up in a house by himself to ever want to go back to that feeling. He loathed being the only one whose memory in town wasn't cursed about magic and their lives in the Enchanted Forest. It ostracized him and it made him appear to be the town's lone crazed conspiracy theorist. His slight hysterical outburst forced him to compose himself. After doing so, his tone became dramatically more serious as he finally carried on with the truth. "As I was saying, I believe the Author's intentions are to end this story."

" _This story?_ "

"Yes, this story. This very existence. The exchanges and experiences of what is happening right now. That is this story and your daughter is at the center of it."

"If what you say is true, then what does any of this have to deal with my daughter?"

Jefferson shook his head. "I'm not certain, but what I do know is that you're doing everything in your power to protect her from her own magic. I'm thinking that by doing so, you are halting the story's progression. You are thwarting destiny and indirectly preventing the destiny of everyone else."

" _Destinies?_ " echoed back another voice from behind them in the cabin. Henry, while still in his tuxedo, stood before them unamused. He carefully placed his enchanted timepiece back into his coat pocket and crossed his arms as he continued, " _Really_ Grandpa? Jefferson?"

" _Henry_ ," said both Jefferson and Rumplestiltskin simultaneously and with surprise. Neither one of them expected Henry to leave his own wedding to investigate them. Henry came forward to them, shaking his head in frustration as he said, "You know, Paige told me you guys were up to something and I said to her, 'nah, they wouldn't do anything nefarious on our wedding day'. I said to her that nothing was wrong and that you two were just somewhere in the party having a good time like everybody else. I guess I was wrong, wasn't I?"

"Yeah, Grace was always too smart for her own good," acknowledged Jefferson as he backed away into a standing coatrack. He turned to Rumplestiltskin and remarked, "Boy, you weren't kidding about being watched."

"Henry, it's not what it seems," claimed Rumplestiltskin as he tried to explain. "We didn't do anything wrong."

" _Didn't do anything wrong?_ Grandpa, you are traveling without consent! Explain that to the Magical Transport Authority," scolded Henry to his grandfather.

Jefferson stood up straighter after having leaned up against the coat rack and cleverly retrieved an oversized black top hat that had swirls of gold embroidered all around it. Smoothly, he upturned his hat and gave it a spin as he tossed it to the floor. A miniature cyclone appeared inside the hole of the hat and a magical wind engulfed the room.

"Well pal, as fun as family reunions are, I really must get going. Send my regards to Grace when you see her Henry. Have a happy honeymoon!" At Jefferson's last words, he hopped into the spinning hat and disappeared from both the cabin and the conversation.

As soon as the wind died, Rumple gestured towards the vacant spot where Jefferson once stood and asked, "Aren't you going to go after him?"

"When he's ready to come back to Storybrooke he'll find me. And trust me, the person he'll be answering to won't be me. It'll be my wife." Henry sighed at the thought as he said to himself worriedly, "She's going to be so disappointed and heartbroken when she hears about this. I can't do this to her on our wedding day."

"You don't have to tell her anything," suggested Gold. "You can return to the party and claim you saw nothing here."

"You see, that's where you're wrong Grandpa! Families don't lie to each other. You can't just go lying to your loved ones."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to turn you in," declared Henry with feigned authority.

Rumple scoffed and retorted, "Without magic? I'd like to see you try." Rumple shook his finger at Henry as he said, "You've always underestimated my power, boy."

"And you've always underestimated my power!" exclaimed Henry, taking offense to his belittling gesture. "I carry with me the people's voice and backing. And the power from that kind of love always surpasses any kind of magic you possess."

"Alright. Well then if your powers are as strong as you say they are, then how about putting them to some good use. Why don't you help out your aunt who has been bullied nonstop by everyone in town? Why do you encourage the rumors about her?" challenged Gold.

"I can't believe you're trying to negotiate a deal out of this. You know I can't control what people say or do!"

"Well then, since there's no way for you to stop me, I will do whatever I damn well please because what I do with my time and my powers is my business. And no one, not even you, can stop me," declared Rumplestiltskin as he pulled out his dagger from within his coat jacket.

"I will find a way."

"You will most certainly try," egged Rumple defiantly and with a flick of his wrist, Rumple whipped his dagger into the air and disappeared from the cabin.

* * *

 **I'm so happy to be publishing this pivotal chapter! The had to have been my favorite to write, especially because Jefferson was a surprisingly fun character to write and put up against Rumplestiltskin. I did always find their banter on the show to be most amusing. Thank you to Grace5231973 and Actress10 for reviewing and keeping in touch with me. I may not be quick in responding, but I do read your reviews and I love every single one of them! Thank you. I look forward to reading them for this chapter. Until then, have a safe holiday everyone and I'll see you next chapter!**


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